A Tale of Hoenn
by pokefaker
Summary: Arceus has forever lost its form in favor of becoming the heart of the world it created. This has left its great creations, the Legends, to watch over the world in its place, but a foolish mortal wishes to use their power once again. Can three simple, little Pokemon stop a force with the power of the Legends?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Legend of Arceus**

 _There is belief of creatures with unfathomable power, capable of controlling the very essences of the multiple factors of life. However, these beings pale in comparison to the one, true Pokemon, Arceus._

 _In the beginning, there was nothing. Vast emptiness expanding over the barren world. That changed when the great Arceus awoke. A Pokemon that wielded immense power which it used to give life to the barren world. Its power was so stunningly grand, that with each and every step it took, traces of life were left behind in its wake and in doing so, made the once barren, empty world into a fertile and lush place. Arceus left rolling fields of wildflowers and grasses in its tracks, created ever expanding oceans with the powerful rains it summoned with its roars, and mountains so high that they seemed to reach the heavens themselves._

 _As Arceus made its way across the world, smaller creatures began to take form. These Pokemon were the children of Arceus and came to worship it as a god. They sought Arceus for help and guidance and it tended to their needs, giving whatever it could to help its children flourish. While tending to its children, Arceus also protected the very lands it created and in doing so, was slowly draining its power. The time for Arceus to sleep again was coming close and it would not be able to tend to the land and its children, so, with a great amount of its god-like power, it created the Legends._

 _Beings of colossal size that would take charge of certain factors of its world while it slept. Arceus, with one final gesture of its grand power, had created towering stone plates that scattered across its world, hidden from the mortal Pokemon it cared for. On each of the 17 plates Arceus created were engraved rules of for the Legends to follow. And with that, Arceus went into a deep slumber, making its nest in the enormous mountains that reached into the sky._

 _At first, Arceus' children were confused, distraught that their god had left them, leaving them blind in the face of trouble. In which, the Legends had made their presence known to the moral Pokemon, giving them hope that their god would always be there for them. And life went on as the Legends protected and kept peace among the land._

 _Until one day, a mortal Pokemon, fed up with being managed by the Legends, saw fit they could create a world in which_ they _, the mortals, would forever rule. They would preach to others, claiming the Legends were not needed, Arceus itself was not needed anymore, and that they truly had no free will while in their care. However, they were greatly ignored, cast off as an outsider, which only infuriated them even more, so they left. They journeyed farther than any other Pokemon had ever dared, reaching the lands that many did not even know existed. There, they came along another Legend, one that did not care for mortals too much nor Arceus for creating them. And so they fought._

 _For days, upon weeks, upon months they collided and clashed until there was only one victor. The mortal. They had overcame the Legend and even learned of their special ability to create stones, stones of great power. They forced the Legend to create one, a stone meant to control the Legends, the Mythic Stone._

 _With this stone, the mortal took control of the beings made to protect Arceus' creations, bending their will into their own. With this power, they would show the ones who foolishly discarded them that they were foolish themselves to follow such creatures. Using the Mythic Stone, the mortal sought to destroy everything Arceus created, laying waste to everything and anyone that stood in their way._

 _Deep in Arceus' slumber, it awoke from the wailing and cries of agony from the world itself, only to find its precious creation in ruin. Arceus' children, now scattered from their homeland due to the large amounts of mayhem and destruction, hid away in fear of being killed. It could sense their fear, their sadness, their lost of faith that their god would always protect them and it roared. A cry of pain and anger echoing all across the lands and seemed to shake the world itself._

 _The mortal, now knowing of Arceus' awakening, had went after it, using the very Legends it created. An intense battle broke out between Arceus and the mortal that lasted for years, leaving only more chaos and ruin in its wake. The world was ruined and Arceus was saddened deeply. Seeing that it needed to end this ever-going battle, Arceus absorbed the power of its world, taking its very essence to create a light that shone brighter than even the sun. Even seeing that its wayward child had lost their faith in it, Arceus still cared for the mortal, but used its blinding light on them._

 _The mortal Pokemon's form was destroyed, along with the damned Mythic Stone, finally ending their battle. Arceus, deeply hurt and heartbroken, used the last remaining strength it possessed to transform its very soul into a stone that the world absorbed, bringing back the fertility of the world even greater than before. The Legends, left behind, mourned that Arceus would never be able to take its previous form ever again._

 _The Jewel of Life, Arceus' very soul, lied deep within the world. Where it finally rested, a grand mountain was formed, but the few mortals left behind were unable to find it..._

 **Welcome to Hoenn**

The forest was covered in an early morning dew from the light rain that occurred last night. It gave the air a crisp, wet feeling which the small Pokemon exiting the hollowed tree home didn't mind. He took in a deep breath, enjoying the freshened air and smiled at the wet grass he stepped onto upon leaving. His eyes, filled with great determination, looked up to the sky. The sun was barely out, but he felt a warmth anyways. Perhaps it was the fire metaphorically burning inside of him that gave him some pep in his step as he made his way into the denser forest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Same Morning, Different Lesson**

The morning started off just like most of his mornings did, with an intense training segment. It had been a few weeks since the small Treecko's training had began thanks to his constant begging and crying of want to grow stronger. Gin, was the name he was given from his teacher and guardian, Kurrin. As far as he could remember, it was only him when he hatched, which was odd as the older Pokemon was a Linoone. However, the two made it work and they grew together as a family of two.

It was already an hour into their training and Gin was growing anxious. He had tried over and over to hit his teacher, but he was way more agile and swifter than Gin was, despite his older age. He was able to dodge nearly all of his attacks, only managing to hit him with a few hits from his Bullet Seed before Kurrin moved again. Today, he was meant to work on his speed, in both attack and defense which meant delivering faster attacks and dodging even faster before his teacher would strike him. The Linoone had proved to be a tough challenge due to his high HP and attack base. Gin _had_ to move fast or he'd most likely faint from a single swipe of Kurrin's Slash.

The small Treecko was panting as he briskly made his way from branch to branch, thinking that his teacher wouldn't chase him in the trees. However, he was again underestimating Kurrin. The Linoone had easily made it into the treetops and gave chase, occasionally almost on Gin's heels. His sharp claws left incisions in the branches he leapt from, making the smaller Pokemon nervous. But this was the training Gin had been begging for. Before, Kurrin was taking it easy on his student, only attacking when he was sure Gin could take it, but the Treecko felt he wouldn't be getting proper training if he did that. Gin took a few peeks over his shoulder to see if he was still behind him and let out a held in breath, he didn't know he was holding, of relief. He stopped his frantic leaping, settling on a branch to try and catch his breath.

He had to think fast, is what ran through his thoughts from Kurrin's lecture, he couldn't stand around and think due to the fact his enemy wouldn't allow it. Just then, as Gin tried to get his mental gears going, a loud crack of thunder struck a tree not too far from him, causing his heart rate to increase again.

Lately, Kurrin had been displaying other attacks the smaller Pokemon didn't even know he possessed, such as his powerful Thunderbolt. Soon, his eyes trailed from the scorched marking left on the tree to his teacher a few branches away from him. Gin didn't know when he got there, but he wasn't going to waste his thinking on it. He quickly attacked, shooting a heavy barrage of seeds from his mouth, firing at the Linoone. A serious tone reflected on his face was a sign he was serious as he easily dodged the barrage by leaping. His movements were fast and nearly invisible as he got closer. Quick thinking, Gin thought to himself and quickly made a jump for it, taking off from the branch to meet the ground below.

Kurrin acted even faster and leapt from the branches as well, his claws beginning to envelope in light as a sign he was readying a Slash attack. Gin landed first and dodged it, letting Kurrin's claws rip into the earth, kicking up dirt. The Treecko believed his teacher wouldn't really try and kill him, but it was hard to keep believing that when he came at him with attacks like that. He took off in another sprint only to be followed. This was more like a predator-and-prey chase rather than a training session. Gin tried to think, think of any way to get an advantage, which Kurrin noticed.

"Gin," His voice deep and echoing off the trees around them. This caused Gin to stop, looking back at him, breaths shallow and fast. Kurrin stopped as well, just a few feet back. He propped himself up on his hind legs in a standing fashion and gestured for the smaller Pokemon to come over. Gin knew this all too well as whenever they stopped like this meant Kurrin was calling their session to an end. He made his way over to his teacher sadly. Tense, dark blue eyes glanced down at the Treecko. "Is your plan for the day to keep running? You barely tried attacking me."

"I'm sorry," Gin mumbled in a saddened tone. "You were too fast, I could barely think of a way to counteract your attacks." He complained, but knew that was the point of this morning's training, to act and think faster. Kurrin let out a deep sigh and placed his hand on Gin's head in a soft manner, causing him to look up. The Linoone smiled down at him.

"This is why we cannot skip training steps, Gin. I know you want to become strong, but we must take one step at a time." Kurrin had proven his point as Gin was no way shape or form ready for this kind of training. Gin nodded in agreement and in defeat. "So how about we go back a few steps and start from there?" Another nod of the smaller Pokemon and the two walked together to a clearing in the dense forest where they met to begin their training usually.

"I didn't know you could use an Electric-type move like Thunderbolt." Gin admitted along their mostly silent walk. Kurrin looked down to his side at Gin and chuckled.

"Surprised you?"

"Nearly made my heart jump out of my chest." Gin smiled, a soft chuckle of his own escaping his lips. Kurrin nodded and looked straight ahead again. "Where did you learn it?"

"A long time ago." Kurrin answered vaguely which disappointed Gin. For as long as he has been alive, Gin didn't know a lot about his teacher's past. He was a very reserved Pokemon from what he's heard from the others in their town. No one seemed to know about Kurrin's past, only when he arrived. He heard Kurrin had popped up in town many years ago, apparently helped clear out some riffraff that was threatening everyone and ended up making the place his home. Gin wanted to know how his teacher became so powerful and strong, but Kurrin would reply with super vague answers and it was near impossible to keep pressing him. Gin gave a weak 'okay', knowing he wasn't going to get a more in-depth answer from him.

The two made it to the clearing finally and sat in the center of it. Gin sat crisscrossed in front of his teacher, waiting for his lesson.

"Now today, for your _real_ training, we will be working on your attacks." Kurrin said, his voice sorta loud as Gin could have sworn it was bouncing off the trees and echoing all over.

"My attacks? What's wrong with them?" Gin asked.

"They are too weak still. Even when hit me with your Bullet Seed, I barely feel anything." Kurrin responded, sounding a bit stern.

"That's cause you have higher HP than me!" Gin argued back, a little defensive from the criticism. Kurrin quickly silenced Gin with a harsh glare.

"I said ' _feel_ ', not effected." Gin was about to retort with 'what's the difference', but refrained from doing so. "When hit with any of your attacks, it's as if being hit with nothing, so your attacks need to be strengthened." The Linoone got back onto all fours and turned, heading to the far end of the center before turning back to Gin. "So I want you to keep attacking me with everything you possess."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Come At Me**

Gin was still on his butt, looking over at his teacher oddly. He wanted him to just attack him? Was he going to fight back? The Linoone was in a stance that seemed like he wasn't going to counteract so Gin rose to his own feet, taking his position from across Kurrin. His attacks weren't strong enough, not even capable of inflicting damage on the skin itself. He felt bad about himself, but quickly brushed the depressing feeling away and prepared to attack. He took a short moment to gather the fire that had been brewing inside of him to help power his move before lashing out with a Bullet Seed attack. Despite the long distance between them, the seeds had been fired with such force behind them, that they made it to Kurrin. The seeds pelted the side of his face as he turned it so not to get shot in the eye. His face remained still, clearly not affected by the attack. Gin stopped and switched to another, taking off in his direction with a Tackle. He slammed right into Kurrin, but the older Pokemon had not budged an inch.

The Treecko backed away and rammed into him again and again, and to no prevail had Kurrin moved or showed signs of the attack hurting him. Kurrin kept his claws planted on the ground as Gin kept attacking, actually observing the small Pokemon. Gin used Bullet Seed and Tackle over and over, but nothing seemed to do anything.

"Gin," Kurrin spoke up only to be pelted with another barrage of seeds that uselessly hit him. "Stop now. I've seen enough." The Treecko finally stopped his attack, panting from all the energy he used to deliver them.

"No, I got this!" Gin lashed out and rammed right into Kurrin's side. Kurrin shut his mouth, unable to speak for some reason and allowed Gin to keep attacking.

This had went on for a while before Gin had dropped to his knees and hands, panting even harder now. Why was his attacks doing absolutely nothing? He spent so much time in the beginning of their training learning off of Kurrin about attacks, about HP, about defense, about moves, yet he couldn't do anything. His entire body shivered in anger from his incapability to do any damage at all.

The older Linoone walked over, looming over Gin, covering him with his huge shadow. He could see the small dots of wet dirt underneath the Treecko's face that he kept from his view. He gently pet Gin's head, startling him.

"You know, I wasn't always strong." Kurrin spoke up, breaking their silence. Gin sniffled and looked up to his teacher with clear tears at the corners of his eyes. He smiled and pulled Gin up off the ground and allowed him to climb onto his back. Kurrin suppressed a chuckle from the feeling of Gin smothering his face in the soft fur on his back. He lied on the ground and continued. "When I was young, close to your age, I was a runt. Couldn't really do anything but run and even still I messed up with that a lot of the times." His smile widened feeling Gin chuckle in his back and reply in a muffled voice.

"You sucked at running from battle?" Miraculously, Kurrin understood his muffled speech and responded.

"Yes, I did, but you know, one day, I was having a really crummy time and came across a library." Gin finally moved his face from his fur and watched the back of Kurrin's head, intently listening to his story.

"Library?" Gin asked.

"A place full of books." Kurrin replied before continuing again. "I walked in and found a book about training. Not just normal training however, but a book about training your inner power." Gin was more intrigued and sat up. "Inner power is something all Pokemon possess but not many can master it."

"Did you master it?" Gin asked excitedly. Kurrin chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I've only managed to use it occasionally."

"What is it the difference between normal and inner power?"

"Normal power is when you simply train and grow stronger," Gin scowled at this, as that was what they were doing now. Kurrin picked up on his mood change and finished quickly. "But it _can_ lead to unlocking your inner power. It is simply attacking, but inner power is strength unlocked to make even small attacks greater. It's.." Kurrin found himself trailing off, unsure of how to fully explain this to his student without going on specific things all day. He felt Gin give a slight tug of his fur, clearly wanting to hear the rest. He ignored the tugging and soon asked after a long pause of silence. "Are you feeling better?" The Linoone smiled.

"Yeah," Gin spoke softly and climbed down off of Kurrin's back. "You promise to teach me about that inner power stuff later, right?" Kurrin nodded and told him they would once they worked on his attacks gaining some power of their own. After all, an attack with no kick in it at all cannot be powered up. "Can we continue?"

"Of course." Kurrin took his position again at the far side of the clearing, allowing Gin to come at him with his attacks. This time, however, they seemed to be pumped with a new, faint force behind them. The Linoone allowed a few more attacks in before he swiped at Gin, causing the smaller Pokemon to fall back, clearly thrown off by the sudden gesture. "That time I felt a little something." A smirk crossed his face and Gin felt his pride pick itself up.

"You're gonna-"

Yes," Kurrin finished his train of thought. He lowered himself into a position, ready to attack. "But I will hold back a little this time." Gin, still excited, readied himself as well, bracing for Kurrin's attack. Something gleamed in the smaller Pokemon's eyes that made Kurrin remember something, a far off memory that he held dear and caused him to smile widely. The Treecko lunged first with a newly-powered Tackle and Kurrin braced himself, the thought soon fading away in his mind as he did so.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Grumbly In The Tumbly**

Kurrin was backed a few steps from the new and more aggressive attacks from his student. He was surprised himself he was capable of such a thing so abruptly, but he was nonetheless proud. Gin kept coming at him with Tackle and Bullet Seed attacks, sending his teacher up against a tree finally. He charged his claws with a bright light and swiped at Gin, making sure to hold back some of the power in it so not to hurt him, and sent him away a few feet when it made contact with his small body. A grunt escaped his lips as he hit the ground, but he was soon up on his feet again, the fiery look in his eyes still blatantly there. The older Pokemon charged at him with a Tackle of his own which Gin dodged and countered by swinging his thick tail at his feet, tripping him up along the way. He tripped and tumbled across the ground. Gin was really proud of himself and kept on while Kurrin was trying to get his bearings again. He used Bullet Seed, firing at Kurrin, the seeds now starting to trickle down his HP slightly. His attacks were starting to pack some oomph in them.

The Linoone moved from his spot on the ground, escaping the seeds and summoned a shadowy orb just a few inches from his mouth before firing it at Gin. The orb made contact and effected the smaller Pokemon greatly as he fell to the ground. He took a bit longer to get back up onto his feet. His eyes were wide and he looked amazed rather than hurt.

"What was that?!" Gin shouted.

"A Shadow Ball." Kurrin responded and prepared to fire another one. Gin, now knowing of the attack, was able to dodge the projectile orb, letting it hit a tree and cause an inflicted dent in its bark.

The two had gone on for a long while like this, taking hits and dodging each others attacks until the sun was directly in the sky. Just as Gin was about to use a move, he stopped himself due to the loud grumbling in his stomach. A faint blush painted across his face as his hands went to cover his stomach. Kurrin gave a hearty laugh at this and rose onto his hind legs.

"I got so absorbed in this, I forgot we didn't have any breakfast." Kurrin laughed. Gin blushed even harder, embarrassed. The older Pokemon gestured for him to come along as he started to head into the thick forest to head home. Gin quickly followed behind him to catch up.

The two lived in a small town called Littleroot, where the population merely contained only four other families apart from them. Their home of a tree was located a bit further away from the others, but Gin figured Kurrin lived here as he liked his privacy. He, however, was more inclined to spend his free time in town. Mainly, he would hang out with his best friend, well, his only friend, Sapphire. The two of them were as close as ever and had been since they hatched around the same time. They made it out of the dense forest that surrounded Littleroot and back to their home. The wide trunk of the tree had been hollowed out for living quarters, which Kurrin did himself years ago. It was two-storied and housed Gin's room upstairs which was accessible with a ladder. The Treecko rushed inside, heading straight for the large box that housed their food. He dug around and spotted an small package of colored blocks wrapped in pretty paper. Kurrin spotted him pull it out and moved in quickly.

"You are not filling up on candy this early." He swiped the candy from Gin, earning a pitiful whine. The Pokeblocks were a very popular treat made in only their region and children like Gin were obsessed with them. However, they were not the best to eat and should only be eaten in smaller increments as Gin would normally scarf down the whole package worth. "Eat some real food then you may a _few_ afterwards." Kurrin placed the package on the small, wooden table in the center of their home so he could keep an eye on them. Gin huffed and mumbled something incoherent before grabbing some berries. He sat at the table with Kurrin, placing the berries on top before grabbing a Pecha berry to eat. He figured eating a few, as they were mostly hollow, he could save space for his sweet Pokeblocks. Kurrin of course caught onto this and gestured for him to eat an Oran berry once he was finished. "I may need to stop in town for more." His eyes were on the pile of berries Gin grabbed, seeing there weren't a lot of Oran ones, his personal favorite. He munched on one of the dark blue berries as he slouched at the table. Gin knew his teacher wasn't too fond of the chore and swallowed before speaking up.

"I can go, Kurrin." His eyes went to the smaller Pokemon. "I don't mind and I can see Sapphire on the way." He smiled up at him. Usually Kurrin was the one to do the shopping since he left housework to Gin most the time. He didn't want to be known as a lazy teacher who did nothing for his student, but he supposed this one time wouldn't hurt, plus he was offering.

"Then I'll make a list." Kurrin left the table, leaving Gin to finish scarfing down his breakfast before grabbing the Pokeblocks. He opened the package and flipped one of the small cubes into his mouth, moaning in delight at their sweetness. The older Pokemon allowed him to snack on a few as he dug around in their food storage, taking note of what needed to be restocked.

Finally he got done, same with Gin with his Pokeblocks. He presented a list to the small Pokemon. Gin noticed that the Oran berry requested number on the list was greatly larger than the others.

"Just give this list to miss Marine and she'll fill out the order." He ordered before Gin crumpled the list in his hand and grabbed the large sack he seen Kurrin use all the time to carry their food in. It was a lot more looser on him compared to his teacher. He waved goodbye and told him he'd be back soon, but Kurrin brushed him off, telling him to take his time to see his friend. And with that, Gin left the tree, running along the grass towards town.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Littleroot Residents**

Littleroot's more populated part was definitely more welcoming compared to Gin and Kurrin's more secluded section of town. Along the way, Gin greeted Ms. Potter, a beautiful, young Beautifly who recently just had two eggs hatch. She was unfortunately abandoned by some guy, Gin heard, and left with the two eggs afterwards. However, she managed just fine after some time and her two twin daughters, Mimi and Vivi, hatched. They were delightful, despite being a handful sometimes. The young Treecko recalled a time where he and Sapphire were left to babysit them once and they proved to have tons of energy that left them bouncing around hyper-actively. She worked in Odale, a town not too far from Littleroot and sometimes she'd need some help with them. Gin liked passing her home as the air around it always smelled of flowers.

The other family in town belonged to another single parent, Ivan, a proud Mightyena pappa raising a single Poochyena pup. His daughter was a little older than Gin and Sapphire, but she tended to act like a baby a lot of the time. Apparently, she was a daddy's girl to the max and often called for him when she didn't get her way. Gin and Sapphire figured he was always pampering her by the way she acted, so they avoided her from time to time so not to get yelled at by her father for "bullying" his daughter. Gin heard from Sapphire's mother that he once was once part of the very gang Kurrin defeated, as hinted by the two not liking each other much.

Next place he crossed belonged to an elderly Farfetch'd named Willow. She never left her home much, but Gin knew Sapphire would try and keep her company when she had free time. She told him of how she was madly in love with a surfing champion back in Kanto and how the two would sit on the water and talk about their love for each other. Gin wasn't too fascinated with such talk, but Sapphire loved it. She loved hearing about how he'd make scorched patterns in the ground using bolts of thunder to etch out his love for her. She loved hearing about how he took her out into the ocean, just to propose to her. And oh how she loved how lost she'd get whenever she looked into his deep, blue eyes that made even the ocean envy of their color. Sapphire ate it all up, but it was later squashed when Willow spoke of how he died from colliding into a rocky cove and how heartbroken she was that she left her home due to all the memories of him there. Sapphire stopped asking about her past after that and the two mostly filled their time together with knitting and baking goods.

Soon, he found himself standing in front of an circular structure, decorated with a big, colorful sign that read _MarineBerry Shop_. He entered and smiled at the elderly Mudkip just behind the counter.

"Hey miss Marine, how are you today?" He politely asked, walking up to the counter. She smiled, making the lines in her face deepen and become more visible. Marine was Sapphire's sweet grandmother and original owner of the berry shop. Gin remembered hearing her talk about when she left her marshland home to start her business. How her own family had called her dumb to try and do such a thing. He asked her before if she ever thought about them and she answered with a sadden nod.

"I'm good, sweetheart, just a bit tired." She answered. Her body was covered with her fuchsia-colored blanket. It wasn't really all that cold, but he figured perhaps older Pokemon just felt differently when it came to the weather. "Are you here to see Sapphy?" She used the cute nickname Gin noticed only her and Sapphire's mother used.

"Yeah, but also," He placed the crumpled paper on the counter, pushing it towards Marine. She leaned in and looked it over, soon realizing it was a list. "I'm doing pickup today."

"Doesn't Kurrin usually do that?" Marine asked, scanning him with her eyes and noticed his sack that he usually used. "That old fool didn't go and get himself hurt did he?"

"No, no," Gin quickly pressed so not to worry the elderly Mudkip. "He just trusts me to take on this chore for him" Marine's smile returned to her face and giggled at the young Pokemon's prideful nature when explaining himself.

"Okay, well you tell him he better be taking care of himself. That old fart tends to forget about his health a lot of the time." Marine giggled and began to straighten out the piece of paper more so she could read it. "And tell him I said hi." Gin nodded and looked beyond the counter to one of the doors in the back. Marine knew already what he was looking at without even taking her eyes off the paper. "She's in the back with Aqua, go on." She shooed Gin away, allowing him to come through the small gate the separated the shop from the entrance to the back and headed to the door, peaking outside into the berry fields. The field was pretty large and filled with trees of all sizes that either were or had already sprouted berries. His nose picked up the various scents emitted from the trees and felt his insides get tickled by the aroma.

He entered the fields and started making his way around, soon finding his friend and miss Aqua bunched together low on the ground around something.

"Now it's very important to give it as much tender, love, and care. It makes the berries all the more sweeter." Aqua, a mature Marshtomp with a cloth, similar to Marine's, wrapped around her forehead. Gin viewed Aqua as the second strongest Pokemon in their town as he witnessed her blast away pests and scavengers as big as Yanmega from destroying her fields. She had inherited Marine's business and acted as head of the berry shop which she did plan on one day giving to Sapphire. However, the young Mudkip did not show as much interest in making this her job forever. Gin knew better than anyone that she wanted to do something else with her life.

Sapphire had covered the new seedling in the soft soil, then used a watering can shaped like a Wailmer to feed it freshwater. She smiled down at the now covered seedling and whispered something only it could hear before looking up to her mother. She nodded her approval and looked over, now noticing Gin standing there.

"Oh my goodness, Gin, what are you doing just standing there?" Aqua rushed over and scooped the smaller Pokemon into her arms, squeezing the life out of him. He wheezed and tried to catch his breath from her crazy strong hug.

"S-Sorry miss Aqua, I didn't want to interrupt you guys." He managed. She finally put him down, giggling as he wobbled a bit before he finally caught his bearings. "Is Sapphire free?"

"Not yet," Sapphire answered for herself. "We still gotta take in today's harvest." She gestured with her head fin to all the trees still barring berries. "After this, I'll come hang out." Gin nodded but offered his assistance anyways, which Aqua happily accepted, pushing him into the direction of the nearest tree needing harvesting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: I Wanna Be**

Aqua had shown Gin a demonstration of how to harvest the ripen berries above by using a ladder to reach them. She showed him how to pluck the berries from their place, displaying great care by placing them in the small woven basket she now carried on her back. Sapphire began doing the same as well, but on much more lower hanging trees. The small Treecko didn't need a ladder, he told miss Aqua, as he leapt onto a one, using the special padding of his hands and feet to scale up the trunk. With his own basket attached to his back, he too began plucking free the fruit from the branches, tossing them into his basket.

After a long while, the three of them managed to collect and dump all their gathered berries into a much larger container that Aqua started pushing towards the door to re-enter the berry shop. A big smile on her face the entire time.

"You should come work for us more often, Gin." She giggled seeing the smaller Pokemon flustered by the comment. He claimed he didn't want this to interrupt his training and Aqua nodded. She knew Gin wanted nothing more than to be stronger and made a mental note to stop by the reclusive Kurrin's place to see how things were going along. "Well, a deal is a deal." The three made it back inside of the berry shop, giving a wave to Marine at the counter. "I can sort these into storage myself, so you're free Sapphy." She held back the urge to snuggle her precious baby girl as her eyes lit up.

"Come on Gin!" Sapphire called out, already rushing to the exit. Aqua gestured with her head tilt for Gin to get a move on. The two young Pokemon took off in a flash, leaving behind Aqua and Marine who smiled and giggled at the two's distancing laughter and speech. "Finally, I thought I'd be trapped in there all morning. Thanks for helping me out." The two slowed to a walk once they were far enough from the shop, heading for their hangout spot.

A small pond located not too far off from the rest of the housing of Littleroot were where the two usually met. Three smaller trees encircled the pond that were loosing more and more of their leaves each day. Sapphire liked to come here to relax, as she jumped into the small pond, diving as deep as she was capable of doing so. Luckily Vivi and Mimi were nowhere to be sen as the two little ones would use the surrounding trees as their playground and were rowdy as they played. The two had the spot all to themselves today. Gin took a seat at the edge of the pond, sinking his feet into the water, kicking gently just as Sapphire popped her head out from the surface, her body still submerged underneath.

"So how's your training been going so far?" She asked. Gin replied, going on about how Kurrin was an okay teacher and that he'd gotten way better at his attacks from this morning's session. Sapphire, all the while, sat and listened closely, clearly interested in his grand feats when it came to his training. However, she sunk in a bit deeper in the water when he finished, blowing out air to cause bubbles to rise to the surface. Gin looked down at her, leaving the position of his arms behind him on the grass, to leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees.

"What's wrong?" He asked. She avoided his gaze, but answered back, bringing her mouth back up from the watery depths.

"I'm kinda jealous of you." Gin frowned to this, already knowing why she was. Knowing her since they were babies, they trusted each other more than any other Pokemon with secrets. He knew of hers to become a rescuer. A being who worked for the great Team Rescue, a worldwide organization that trained and sent out Pokemon of great strength to help anyone who needed assistance. They were braver and stronger than most Pokemon and went on daring missions that Gin heard could risk their lives. She had wanted to become one when they had visited Odale, seeing an actual team make an appearance in town. The leader, a uniquely colored Medicham who was renown for her valiant nature and her great feats of justice all over Hoenn. Her team members, which by rule were two other Pokemon, a Swellow nicknamed "Lightning" since he was as fast as the very force of nature itself and a Shiftry who had came from a secret village no one knew of. He was as swift and stealthy as any Pokemon Gin ever seen, ever so, that he questioned if Kurrin would be able to defeat him. They had dropped by Odale as the leader of their team was born and raised there. She had greatly inspired Sapphire with her heroic tales and caused the smaller Pokemon to want to one day join Team Rescue.

However, her mother was greatly against such a thing, figuring her baby girl was too delicate for such dangerous work. Rescue teams were quite rare, as it was very difficult for most Pokemon to pass the entrance tests required to even qualify to become one. Aqua also wasn't too keen on the idea as she hated the thought of Sapphire being so far away from home.

"You get to train every day now with Kurrin and get stronger while I'm left behind." She admitted.

"Who said I was going to leave you behind?" She wore a sadden expression on her face that only deepened when he replied. The two lapsed into silence for a while before the Treecko spoke up again. "Why don't you spar with me?" This caught her attention and caused her to look into his direction, interest clearly in her deep brownish eyes. "Me and you, right now."

"Oh you just wanna try and show off your fancy new moves." She assumed that her friend had gotten a lot stronger upon the few weeks he's been training and learned some new moves. While on the contrary, Gin had rarely made any progress with his training so far, but he wanted to cheer Sapphire up. He returned with a cocky comment of his own about how he understood how nervous she was to face such a strong opponent. Sapphire felt a smirk form on her lips and pulled herself out of the water, small droplets making her body glisten in the sunlight. "Then let's battle."

Gin didn't know if he'd be ready to face Sapphire just yet. She was always a tad bit stronger than he was, but he has been training with a master Pokemon like his teacher, so he should have gotten stronger in the process, even by a little bit. He pulled his feet from the pond and rose to them, shooting back a determined look back at his friend. It had a been a while since the two had had a battle.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: Learned Something New Today**

Instantly, the battle began and it started with a powerful blast of water from Sapphire's side of the pond, shooting Gin with a strong Water Gun. Her friend crossed his arms in an shield-like fashion, blocking his face from the pressurized water. She had definitely gotten stronger or he was really weak as the water's force was sending him back a few inches. Gin used his thick tail to slam into the ground, steadying himself before moving out of line of her attack. From across the pond, he fired at her with his Bullet Seed, missing her just a few inches as she deftly dodged it. The Mudkip took shelter behind one of the surrounding trees as Gin's barrage of seeds weren't letting up. He rushed over while firing, surprising her when he came into view, then pelted her with his attack. It had taken a good amount from her HP, but she showed no signs of slowing down, picking up speed while running and darting about around him.

It had been a long time since they had done something like this and both were very low leveled at the time. However, Gin still fretted secretly, worried that his attacks wouldn't do enough damage to end their sparring. The Treecko was then ripped away from his thoughts when Sapphire made it close to him, smacking him with her tail. He quickly gathered his thoughts and pushed them away in favor of what was happening now.

His sessions with Kurrin were definitely a lot tougher, but his friend had shown great signs of of growth just going based off of her speed alone. She was quick on her feet, so Gin could not let his guard down. He matched her own speedy movements with some of his own, the two rushing about their battlefield. Gin used another Bullet Seed attack, this time, hitting Sapphire dead on and sapped another chunk of her HP away. Being a Grass-type did always leave him with a bit more of advantage as she was a Water-type, but neither wanted to bring it up. For him, it'd sound too...was privileged the right word? Sapphire, despite the type advantage, kept up her spirits and used Water Gun while she began closing the space between the two of them. Gin, once again, guarded himself from the watery blast, but it obscured his vision, leaving him open. With a noise he couldn't pinpoint was either a battle cry or yelp from her, the Mudkip suddenly stopped her water assault with a different attack, hitting Gin right in the face.

The thick substance felt heavy and left Gin blind as his eyes struggled to reopen.

"W-What is this?!" Gin tried wiping at his face vigorously, but to no avail was the substance clearing up. He could pick up the cocky tone laced in her words.

"It's my newest move, Mud-Slap." She beamed, happy to display her newly taught attack. With that said, she made her move, striking Gin with hit after hit. With a Tackle here, and Water Gun there, the Treecko was flung around the battlefield like a rag doll. After another powerful Tackle, he was sent into the trunk of a tree, a grunt lined with slight pain had escaped his lips as he crumbled to the ground. Sapphire, at this point, had exuded a lot of her energy and was panting, watching Gin to see if he'd move. "You know," She began in between breaths. "You could always forfeit."

Gin wanted to move, wanted to get back up, but his body had taken too many direct hits, a few were a bit more critical than others. He felt weak. In his mind, he thought of Kurrin and their training sessions. His teacher, as he recalled, never struck him repeatedly, occasionally, he'd only get hit with a few of his attacks, but none were like this. None were HP draining like this. Was this how a _real_ battle was? His previous matches with Sapphire were never like this, her attacks were never like this, but apparently she had grown stronger. Yet, here he was, just now using enough power to inflict actual damage. If anyone were to get left behind, he thought, it would surely be him. He was the weak one.

Sapphire slowly made her way over to him, cockiness transformed into slowly growing concern. Did she really hurt him? She didn't mean to, she figured she wouldn't have to hold back since he was training underneath Kurrin, the strongest Pokemon they knew! The Mudkip stopped a few steps away from him when she finally saw him stir in his position. Relief washed over her instantly.

"Jeez, you scared me there for a second, Gin!" She let out a relieved giggle, but stopped herself when she saw her friend snap his eyes open. She attempted to speak again, but froze up when Gin's breathing became ragged, growing more intimidating and lit with a bluish hue. "G-Gin..?" She now backed away a few steps as the light inside his mouth grew more brighter.

The Treecko didn't seem to hear her scream when he released the pent up beam in her direction. The strong blast sent her spiraling far from where she just stood, engulfing her in the painful light. It scorched her body as if it were fire, but it clearly was not as she was not being cooked alive like it would have if it were a Fire-type blast. Instead, the mysterious attack left her feeling paralyzed, but sent pain throughout her body at the same time. Her scream was deafened out by the blast and finally came to a stop when she fainted.

The powerful exhale of the attack stopped, leaving thin trails of smoke in its wake that trailed out from Gin's mouth, the light quickly weakening until it was gone. What happened, he thought when his thoughts finally came back to him, why does my mouth feel like it's on fire? His eyes stung a bit, but he kept them open, surveying the scene. His vision stopped on the small body a good distance away from himself, unmoving and clearly damaged, even from where he stood. Gin's heart raced wildly and words couldn't leave his lips for a moment, so he acted with his body rather than his voice. He rushed over as fast as he could and dropped to his knees beside Sapphire's body, trying to do his best as to stay calm. How did this happen? They were just sparring a second ago, then... He couldn't remember, he recalled Sapphire's voice, but no words came to mind. Then, nothing. His hands shakily went to her body and touched her, noticing how tight all of her muscles were. She was paralyzed, at least he assumed so based on the lessons he received from Kurrin. From the lack of movement and reaction to his touch, he also assumed she fainted from whatever that had happened.

Sapphire needed serious help, so he quickly, but carefully, gathered the fainted Pokemon onto his back as he made a straight pathway towards the berry shop.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight: You're In Big Trouble**

Gin didn't really do much after he brought Sapphire back to her home. He didn't say much even when Aqua begged him to know what had happened. He didn't do much as his body ached and his insides still felt as if they were on fire. He didn't hear much as the noise of Aqua and Marine fretting over Sapphire were drowned out by the faint sound of ticking in his head. For what seemed like eternity, Marine and Aqua managed to heal her, curing her paralysis and health thanks to their emergency kit the two stored away in the shop. Most of the supplies had come from Odale on their rare trips there, apparently they had stocked up on some important goods since Littleroot was too small to have a Center or Good Shops of their own. Gin's eyes kept glued to the floor, unable to look towards Aqua who paced around before him.

In all the panic frenzy, she had sent Ivan's daughter, who was in the shop earlier before he stormed in, to fetch Kurrin. Gin knew he was going to be in serious trouble once his teacher arrived. Aqua's saddened eyes looked over to the smaller Pokemon and she stopped in her frantic pacing. Her voice quivered slightly as she spoke in a nearly hushed tone, drained from all the crying she did.

"What happened?" She asked again. Gin's body tightened up and she sighed in a defeated manner, knowing when he did that she was not going to get anything out of him. "Kurrin is on his way, Gin." She spoke again, breaking the uncomfortable silence that kept filling the room when she stopped talking or asking questions. The Treecko just couldn't bare to look the worried Marshtomp in the eyes, knowing if he did, he'd tell her. Sapphire and his sparring matches were of course a secret, even though they did not happen so often. He knew his friend would be in a great amount of trouble if he told her mother and the least he could do now was to not ruin that. So he remained silent, stiff, worried...

Aqua went back to pacing, her stubby footsteps being the only things that Gin could hear over his screaming internal fear of Kurrin finding out what happened. His hands balled up into fists when he heard the door of the shop open. He didn't dare look up to meet his teacher's intimidating stare. Luckily he ignored his student the second he walked in, going straight towards Aqua. The two went over the short list of events in hushed voices that Gin could not pick up. He then apologized quietly for anything Gin might have done and very quickly wrapped up their time together as he stomped a clawed foot on the ground, startling Gin out of his locked gaze on the floor.

"Come," Kurrin spoke, his tone a bit drained surprisingly instead of holding an angered tone Gin expected him to have. He slowly got to his feet from waiting on the small bench since he arrived and sadly walked over to Kurrin's side. He could feel Aqua's heartbroken gaze on him added with Kurrin's stern one. His insides still burned a bit, but he didn't dare speak about it. "Again, I'm sorry, Aqua." He gestured towards her and she returned one of her own back at him.

The two left the shop and began their silent walk back towards their tree, Kurrin, the whole time, was occasionally sending Gin glares. Not until they had reached far from the shop and other homes did the Linoone speak up, breaking their bone-chilling silence.

"What happened?" His tone made it sound more like a demand rather than a question. At least that's how Gin took it. The burning feeling made his tongue hurt and his insides sting. He opened his mouth regardless and softly began to speak.

"We were just training together." Gin sounded as if he were whining.

Due to the long wait, Gin had some time to recollect his thoughts, and in doing so, he figured he was the one who had hurt Sapphire. He knew he didn't mean to, he never would intentionally hurt his best friend, it was an accident. But he knew Sapphire's family and Kurrin would not settle for such an answer. In his recalling, he remembered faintly the mysterious attack. He didn't know he had any other moves other than his Tackle and Bullet Seed ones. He had no idea what that was or where it had come from.

"Apparently you weren't, now I am only going to ask one more time, what happened?" Kurrin nearly hissed at him. Gin cowered beside him and nearly felt himself tear up. He didn't mean to! It was an accident!

"I-I don't know, we were sparring, then.." He quickly wiped at his eyes, only to notice that his face was still caked in the now dried mud. He sniffled as he continued. "She kept attacking me then.." The mysterious attack, the one that hurt Sapphire. "Then...I used a weird attack." The Linoone stopped in his tracks, startling Gin again as his head whipped to the side to look directly at his student.

"A weird attack? Explain." He demanded, and Gin did so, or at least to his best ability he tried to. He told him about how he wasn't _there_ when he used it, that he blanked out when it had happened, but he could somewhat recall it. He told Kurrin how it burned his insides, leaving a sizzling sensation in his mouth. He didn't know where it came from, he cried as he swore he didn't mean to hurt his friend. Huge tears welled up to the surface and fell in great amounts as Gin cried. He cried about being scared he wouldn't be able to hang out with Sapphire ever again because of this. That Aqua and Marine wouldn't trust him anymore.

With all his crying, the mud on his face loosened and started to return to its wet texture in the trails of his tears. Kurrin simply stood there as Gin continued to cry until he finally had enough and placed a hand on his head. The motion calmed him just a bit, leaving him hiccuping and shaking. The softness slowly returned to his face as a small smile formed across his lips.

"Let's go get that stuff washed off your face." Gin nodded softly and followed Kurrin back into their home. The small Treecko still felt horrible however, fearful that he could use such an attack.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine: I Dream Of The Sea**

The second the two got in, Kurrin went straight towards the food storage while Gin had shuffled his way over to the table,taking his usual seat at it. Due to the whole ordeal, Kurrin had forgotten to speak to Aqua about their order when he noticed there were very few Oran berries left inside. A soft sigh escaped him, quiet enough that Gin couldn't pick up on it despite how eerily silent the atmosphere was. Perhaps he'd try and eat something later, he thought to himself, closing the lid and grabbed a bowl from their stash of natural dishware. The older Pokemon stepped outside without a word, going to fetch some water from the well to use.

Gin's eyes were down, eyeing the faint patterns and lines etched into the table. He was scared and upset with himself and worried. The burning sensation was still curling up in his insides and he had to moisten his dried mouth before his tongue dried up as well. In the silence of their home, his mind went to earlier, to his battle with Sapphire. What exactly was that attack he used? His mind raced and, for a brief moment, he felt as if the world disappeared around him when it was. Gin looked to the door, seeing that Kurrin had returned, carrying a wooden bowl carefully in his grasp.

The Linoone placed the bowl on the table then retreated for something else, digging around a few things before pulling out a colored cloth that Gin suspected was once white as hinted by the whiteness he could see underneath certain spots. He cringed in his seat for a second, but relief washed over him when his teacher discarded it. He then managed to find one cloth that wasn't used, or at least hadn't shown signs, and returned to the table. He was now towering over the smaller Pokemon and gestured for him to present his face up to him. Gin did so without a single word or hesitation as Kurrin dipped the cloth in the bowl and proceeded to wash his face. The smaller Pokemon couldn't help by twist up his face some of the times due to Kurrin's rough scrubbing as the mud was proving to be quite difficult to remove.

"Are you alright?" Gin flinched, not expecting that question from his teacher. His eyes held no anger or fierceness to them, so the Treecko relaxed, shoulders slumping as a result.

"I'm okay," He managed to say. His mouth being painfully dried made it a bit hard to keep his voice louder than a whisper. "Just a dry mouth is all."

"I'll give you something for that when I'm done. But I was more directing to your health, it is quite low." He pointed out and Gin just now noticed how low his HP had become. He hadn't noticed the entire time!

"I-I didn't even notice.." Gin sighed, but it was hard to feel bad when his face was finally clear of the heavy mud.

"It's okay, it happens." Kurrin left Gin at the table, emptying the dirtied water outside the only window on the first story of their home. He dug through the food storage and grabbed a bright blue-colored berry and returned with it in his hand. "Here, this should take the burning feeling away." He handed the Rawst berry to Gin and he happily accepted it. Kurrin watched him as he scarfed the berry down, already seeing it take its effect on the smaller Pokemon. He'd do something about his low HP later as he had no Potions in stock. For now, some rest would do him some good. Kurrin instructed Gin that he should go and get some rest, which Gin didn't seem to want to do. The Linoone was not going to have any backtalk and sharpened his glare and caused Gin to look down in defeat, leaving to retreat up towards his room. "Sleep well, Gin." He flashed him a soft smile and Gin did the same in return before disappearing up the ladder.

The room wasn't much, but Gin tried to make it as much of his own as possible. Posters ordered from far away places across Hoenn scattered across the walls, some of locations he'd maybe see one day and others of famous Pokemon, such as Silver. He was a big figure around their parts and current leader of Petalburg. Although he was a Vigoroth, he clearly was a lot bigger when standing among his own kind and this only emphasized his power more. Gin really wanted to meet the great Pokemon one day. Kurrin was not a big fan as he believed Silver's constant boasting and showboating made him all talk and no bite, but he was a leader, so he must possess some greater power if given such a role. Gin hoped, in his process of becoming stronger, he'd be able to face Silver.

He made his way to his bed and face planted himself in it, moaning from the softness of it. He curled up and within a few minutes, had fallen off into a deep slumber.

 _He had liked when it rained, it was nice and cool and the world seemed to come to a near still when it did. He enjoyed playing in the murky puddles left behind and try to find buried treasures that had been uncovered by the beady raindrops. The Treecko had plenty of days like this, days where he could just play in the rain while Kurrin rested inside. Today had been very different, however._

 _It was a normal rainy day and he was already outside the second it began to lightly drizzle. Kurrin had warned him of the weather report saying that it will become heavier later on in the day, so he was to return home early. The small Pokemon told him he'd be back as soon as he saw the drops fall harder and was out. He had his small raincoat on for just in case as he ran, kicking up puddles forming on the ground already. Today was going to be fun, he thought to himself._

 _Often, the Treecko had no one to play with and was usually on his own, but this allowed him to slip off into the wild grasses. Kurrin had forbade it due to him being so small and young and untrained. He wouldn't be capable of holding his own in battle, but the Treecko took the chance anyways. He waded through the towering stalks of grass to a clearing where he kept things he could not bring back home. Things like sharp fangs left behind by Pokemon that once lived here in these wild grasses or rare, colorful shards that he had no idea were so valuable. He buried them, deep, underneath the ground so not even the rain could pull them up. He got onto his knees and began digging, scooping up wet dirt in his palms and shoveled it away to reveal his goodies box. The small Treecko removed it from the ground and opened it to admire his discovered treasures. Carefully, he removed a large fang, eyes absorbed in its raw beauty and started to slash away at the cold air. He could've swore he cut a raindrop in half._

 _As the Treecko obliviously played and admired his treasure, he hadn't noticed the pairs of eyes watching him through the tall grass. A threatening voice emerged from behind him and he quickly turned, hiding the dagger behind his back._

" _Whatcha got there, kid?" Out of the grass, came a Luxio, sharp teeth fixed in a scary grin, and was followed by two other smaller Pokemon. The Treecko had learned from Kurrin that he should never try and fight a battle he could not win and it was three against one, but a gut-digging feeling itched inside him. A smile formed on his own face as he replied that it was nothing they'd find interesting. The Luxio did not find this amusing and gestured for their smaller followers to circle around the Treecko. The bigger, cat-like Pokemon walked up to him, towering over his smaller frame. "Well I_ am _interested, so hand whatever you got over."_

 _Kurrin's words rang through his head, but he figured the Linoone couldn't be right all the time, so he headbutted the Luxio. Hard. The impact left the Luxio a few steps back, hissing and cursing in pain as their followers weren't sure what to do, so they scrambled their way over to check on their boss. The Treecko took this time to make a run for it, dagger clenched in one hand and his treasure box in the pit of his arm. It wasn't long before he heard the vicious order from the Luxio to go after him as he made his way further into the wilderness. He jumped over rocks and fallen logs, carefully not to trip as he'd drop his treasures. The sound of the other two Pokemon were coming close up behind him for speed was not something the Treecko possessed a lot of. Which made it even stupider that he decided to try and outrun these guys._

 _The rain was beginning to fall faster, the drops feeling like sharp jabs from up above as the Treecko ran. However, the more the voices grew closer, the more his panic started to rise. He began slipping up, nearly falling down from the exposed roots and rocks that he failed to notice ahead. Soon, something snagged at his foot and the Treecko came tumbling down a long slope. His treasures rattled around loudly in his box as he went, but settled once he was at the bottom. The Treecko quickly got to his feet, a bit dizzy and frazzled, but okay. He noticed he was now on a beach and looked up to where he fell. The slope was big and wet, coating his raincoat, legs, and tail in mud. Not long after, the two lackeys made an appearance, one almost making the same mistake he had, but caught themselves from falling. The Luxio was not far behind before finally making an appearance from the grass._

" _You're gonna really wish you didn't do that, kid." Their voice was sinister as they carefully jumped and slid down the mud of the slope. The Treecko rushed to the crashing waves, but quickly came to a stop as the water hit his feet. Why didn't he listen to Kurrin? Oh yeah, that's right, because he was an idiot. He clenched the fang in his hand and kept a firm hold on his box. The Luxio was drawing closer and followed by the other two Pokemon, the three making a line in which the Treecko could not escape. "Now why don't you hand the box over?" They laughed mockingly. The Treecko glared and told them no. The Luxio was done playing and the Treecko could see the static growing in their fangs as they flashed a nasty grin. "Suit yourself, kid."_

 _The rain was falling harder, coming down almost aggressively and the waves seemed to stir in aggravation, causing the four Pokemon to stop what they were doing, all facing the ocean, only to be confronted with a massive bolt of lightning splitting from the sky. They all jumped from this, but nothing prepared the small Treecko for what he saw next. The sky, darkened and a large spot of the water shone with a brightening blue hue, illuminating something underneath. The Treecko hadn't noticed the Luxio's cry to run and their retreat up the muddy slope, claws ripping up mud as they ran away. However, he stayed there, the heavy rains and lightning not affecting him until the illuminating figure underneath stopped. He could not think of anything to say, so his mouth stayed agape as the large body slowly made itself visible from the watery depths. He dropped the fang and box and watched the figure in the ocean. It seemed to look back before the bright blue light returned to its form, now clearly making out unique lines that held the light covering its body. The mysterious being roared, almost making the Treecko deaf before returning back into the water, disappearing almost instantaneously._

 _The weather lightened again to a soft drizzle and the lightning was no longer there, leaving the Treecko utterly mind blown. Today he had stumbled upon a treasure greater than all the old fangs and colored shards he could ever find. Today he found something spectacular._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten: Feeling Kinda Bad**

The small Treecko awoke, slowly, opening his eyes just enough to bring the ceiling of his room into blurry view. His train of thought took some time to come back to him as he adjusted his eyes, finally making out the rest of the objects around him. Gin looked to the window to see that the sky outside had now held deepening oranges with soft violets making their way into the mix as a sign that night was quickly making its way across. He was asleep for quite a while and climbed out of bed as he rubbed at his eyes. Of course he had remembered the dream he had, but didn't pay it much mind. It'd be interesting to tell Kurrin about it though, perhaps he'd get a good conversation about it from him. Maybe not, Gin reconsidered, and headed down the ladder that exited his room.

Downstairs, he came across his teacher sitting at the table. Well, perhaps more like slumping, his arms cradled together to help cushion his head as he snored softly. Gin smiled and went to his side, simply watching him. His snoring was very soft and could barely be heard, even when this close. He supposed Kurrin must have been just as exhausted as he was, apparently. However, his smile soon twisted into a frown, realizing he must have really stressed him out today. A pang of guilt wormed its way into Gin's chest and suddenly he felt he couldn't even stand by the older Pokemon anymore. He made his way to the food storage bin in silence, carefully opening it to fetch himself a few berries, placing a single Rawst berry in his mouth. Pokemon like Kurrin and Sapphire weren't the biggest fans of bitter-tasting berries like it, but Gin seemed to take a liking to the berry already.

He shut the lid softly so not to wake his teacher and headed for the door, berries in his arms. Gin gave a glance back at Kurrin at the table. His body moved slowly to his breathing and he seemed quite relaxed, despite the uncomfortable position. He nearly swallowed the berry he was chewing on incorrectly due to forgetting it was even in his mouth for a second. Gin cared a lot about his teacher, Kurrin did a lot for him, ever since he was born. He was always there, even when at times he seemed cruel or stricter than necessary, but he knew deep down that the Linoone was just looking out for him. He didn't want to stress him out. He wanted to make him proud.

The small Pokemon decided he'd have a bit to eat outside, relax, maybe do that weird mediating thing he sometimes saw Kurrin do.

He left to the more secluded parts of Littleroot, the dense forest that nestled the town. The very place where he and Kurrin had spent their training days in. The sky was rather pretty as the orange was growing deeper in color and consumed by the ever-growing violet of night. It was cool and it felt amazing on Gin's skin as he walked. Along the way, he could spot scarred trees where Kurrin had left remnants of attacks he used. His Slashes were very strong and sharp, Gin believed they could even rip through the steely hides of Aggron.

With all his walking, he soon came to stop, reaching their usual clearing. He rested himself on top of a stump and started digging into another berry from his batch. The sweetness of the berry felt a bit off to him, which was unusual since he usually ate these kinds of berries. He guessed that his new taste for the bitter Rawst berries were already taking over his taste buds as his new favorite. Is this how Kurrin felt when he ate other ones? Most the time, Gin saw his teacher eating Oran berries, even when his HP was completely fine. He shrugged it off, however, finishing off a few more before letting the others sit beside him. Gin leaned back a bit, leaning on the palms of his hands as he looked up towards the violet-like sky above him.

Stars were already peeking out of the faint darkness. Memories of when he was even smaller came to mind. He remembered Kurrin taking him out here, both sitting in this very clearing, watching the sky. The Linoone had taught him a little bit of how to read the stars above, how they could help lead you to where you needed to go and the stories behind them. Gin was of course really excited and thrilled to be taught such things. The stories of the stars had spoke of heroic Pokemon whose acts were so worthy that they were to be forever told in the heavens in the form of shimmering stars. It was nice and Gin knew he'd always remember it fondly. Gin sat there for what felt like eons as his mind went through the hundreds of precious memories he had stocked in his head. Not only of Kurrin, but of other Pokemon as well, Pokemon like Sapphire. Another pang of guilt came to life in his chest.

The Treecko sighed and pulled his eyes from the now blackened sky. He had hurt her badly, the mental image of her on the ground, unmoving, had sent a chill through his body. He wished he knew if she was okay, but he planned on making a trip to the berry shop tomorrow to properly apologize and check in on her. He slowly pulled his hands into his vision, clenching them shut then opened them again, over and over. He caused a lot of havoc today. Kurrin, he felt, was a bit disappointed. Would he even be allowed to train anymore, a worrying question that crossed his thoughts. Aqua and Marine were probably never going to trust him again. And Sapphire..

Gin hadn't noticed the small tears that began to form. He didn't want Sapphire to hate him, to be fearful of him, to never want to hang out ever hated the thought of losing his best friend and he caved in on himself, pulling his knees up to shield his face as he cried while his arms tightly wrapped around them to keep them there. His body shivered from the mixture of the cool of night and the growing fear inside himself. The Treecko cried softly, barely audible to anything around the area. Sapphire was forgiving, yes, but he didn't know if she would be after such a thing. He didn't want to stop training with Kurrin either, but the growing fear inside him told the small Pokemon that his teacher would most likely do so. All because of that stupid attack! His crying became heavier. Gin's mouth began to form a dim light inside and made his innards feel like odd.

Tears still in his eyes as he pulled himself from the crying shelter of his arms and legs, fearful shock building up inside of him when the light grew stronger. No, not again..

He quickly used his hands to shut his mouth tightly, blue light spilling out from the thin lines and cracks of his mouth and fingers. It was burning. It felt hot, but not in a fiery kind of way. It was terrifying and made his whole body tremble. The light wasn't showing signs of dying out as the inside of his mouth was stinging badly. Gin's tears fell heavily as he finally moved his hands away and faced the sky, opening his mouth widely to release a powerful beam of fire-like energy into the darkness. The mysterious attack brightened the area around him, engulfing everything in a bluish hue and lasted quite a long while.

It slowly died off and everything was once again colored with the shade of night when it finally stopped. His eyes stung and his mouth and throat and insides felt as if they were screaming from the sudden attack. He fell back, falling from the stump onto the ground. His breathing was extremely haggard and the small Pokemon felt as if he'd just burned every part of his insides. The attack was a lot more fiercer than before and it wore him out just as much. Soon a wave of pain washed over him suddenly, leaving him crying out. In his wailing, he failed to notice the incoming sounds of Kurrin in the distance.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven: We Are Family**

"Gin?!" Kurrin's voice was _loud_ , filling the quiet void of night with his worried-filled tone as he frantically ran off into the direction of where he saw the brilliant light. His heart raced faster the longer the small Pokemon wasn't in his sights. A few times he'd collide into trees by accident until he finally managed to come to a clearing, his breathing ragged. His eyes spotted the Treecko on the ground, writhing a bit with his eyes shut tight. He didn't bother with words, racing over to him and carefully scooped him into his arms, giving him a look over to see what was wrong. The smaller Pokemon had been crying, he noticed, but there were no other signs of injury. Still, however, Gin seemed to be in a great deal of pain. "I got you, I got you, don't worry." He whispered softly, finally making eye contact with his student once he opened his eyes. New tears took place of the ones that fell once he noticed Kurrin. "Shh, it's okay, I'm here." He cradled Gin and turned his direction towards home. The Linoone felt small hands grip the fur of his chest and chanced a look down back at Gin. He was a sniffling mess and he struggled to speak, forming soundless words cut off from the burning sensation in his mouth. Kurrin hushed him again, over and over as they headed home, calming Gin until he finally gave up on speaking.

Kurrin placed Gin on the makeshift bed that he usually used, turning away to fetch something for him to eat to try and ease the pain. He cursed himself lowly for not having any medical potions prepared for emergencies like this. He soon returned, lifting Gin's body into his arms, holding him like he did long ago when he was a newborn.

"Here, drink this," Kurrin presented a wooden bowl in Gin's direction. The sweet smell of the special blend of berries already put Gin's mind at ease and took hold of the bowl's sides while his teacher still kept a firm hold of it in case the Treecko's hands couldn't. The liquid was a mixture of flavors and stung the inside of his throat when he swallowed, but he powered through it since his insides needed to cool down. Kurrin rocked gently once Gin was finished and fully relaxed in his arms. "Is that better?" Gin nodded just barely as he settled his head close to the Linoone's chest, burying the side of his face in warm fur. Kurrin then proceeded to hum. A song Gin had heard multiple times throughout his life, but hadn't heard in a while. It was soothing and it filled the room, sending Gin into a blissful slumber.

The next morning Gin awoke in Kurrin's bed to the sight of his teacher sleeping on the ground beside him, curled in on himself. Instantly, Gin remembered last night's events and his hands went to his mouth, but released when he didn't feel the tingling sensation like before. He relaxed even more when remembering Kurrin returning him home and feeding him a blend to help ease whatever pain he was going through. Then he frowned, knowing he ended up stressing his teacher out again. His hands fell to his lap and clenched the sheet his lower half was covered with. He looked over to see Kurrin still asleep and reached over, a hand gently placed on his side as he shook him.

"Kurrin, wake up," Gin shook a bit more before the older Pokemon finally budged. He rose his head and looked back to see Gin and smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning, how are you feeling?" Kurrin asked in between a yawn.

"I feel better." He admitted and rubbed at his arm. "Sorry,"

"What for? I'm use to helping you when you're hurt or upset. It's my job." Kurrin pet Gin's head and rose to his feet, walking on all fours towards the food bin to fetch them something to eat. He dug around and pulled out some berries and proceeded to cut them into thin slices like he did when Gin was younger. Perhaps the situation caused the older Pokemon to revert back to his babying days.

"For causing you to worry." Gin got out of bed in a saddened fashion and took his place at the table. "I shouldn't have-"

"Stop Gin," Kurrin interrupted and placed the sliced berries in front of him, also placing some in his own spot before taking a seat to join the Treecko. "You are my family, not just my student. It's my job to look after you and I don't need you thanking me for doing something like that." This got a smile out of the smaller Pokemon. "I will always worry about you, whether you're big or small, strong or weak, I will worry because we are family. If anything, I want to know why you were out alone so late." The smile faltered slightly as Gin fidgeted in his seat.

"I needed to clear my head, I guess."

"For what reason?" Kurrin stopped himself, already guessing what was still on his mind. "Are you worried still about your friend?" Gin nodded in response and Kurrin smiled. Gin was such a caring Pokemon. He placed a slice of Oran berry in his mouth and ate it before speaking again. "Why don't we go pay miss Marine and Aqua a visit today? Before the shop opens and gets too crowded." The small Treecko looked up from his food with a look only Kurrin could describe as a mix of fear and excitement.

"T-They probably wouldn't want to see me." Gin sighed.

"Please, they love you Gin and they understand what took place yesterday was an accident. And besides, you and Sapphire are best friends, I know for a fact she wouldn't want you avoiding her the rest of your lives." Gin's smile returned to his face in full and he succumbed to his teacher's words, agreeing that he wouldn't want that either.

The two finished their breakfast together and got ready to visit the berry shop. Kurrin had made a mental note to get his order from Marine once they were there and maybe head out to Odale while Gin and Sapphire talked to stock up on health supplies. For now, he was content on getting his damned Oran berries. As they walked, Gin was in way better spirits, but still a bit jittery and nervous. Kurrin simply chuckled to himself and felt the his heart swell from a distant memory coming to mind, but was quickly washed away when he caught sight of the shop.

"Ready for this?" Kurrin looked down to Gin who was slightly shaking. His hand went to his head and settled him into a stop.

"Yeah," Gin answered and they knocked, knowing that the mud fish Pokemon were not opened yet. Every second that their knocking was not answered, Gin's heart sunk further in his chest. Kurrin reassured him with a few words, telling him that it was early and they were probably out back or still getting up. Finally, the door opened to reveal Aqua dressed in a white gown, one of the thin straps fell from one of her shoulders. She didn't seem to mind being in her nightwear as she smiled at Kurrin.

"Good morning, well good super early morning, you two." Aqua giggled and flashed a smile towards Gin as well, putting the smaller Pokemon's heart at ease. "What are you doing here so early? The shop's not open yet."

"Gin wanted to see Sapphire, how is she doing?" Kurrin asked. Aqua allowed the two inside before answering and headed back to fetch some tea from their own breakfast. The shop was filled with a pleasant smell which made Gin's mouth water. She grabbed two cups, nicer than anything the two males owned in their home, filled with tea along with two slices of bread slabbed with butter. Usually the two consisted on a diet of solely berries, so Gin was always fascinated with other kinds of food. He took the tea and bread happily and dug in while Kurrin politely sipped at his tea.

"She's doing great, we took her to the Center in Odale to have everything checked out and they said it was nothing serious, just a real bad case of paralysis." Aqua responded and sat beside Gin on the bench. Her bright eyes went down to Gin. "She has been worrying about you, however, Gin."

"S-She has?" Gin nearly choked on a piece of his bread. Aqua giggled again and nodded.

"She's in her room if you want to see her." Gin looked to Kurrin in a sudden motion, waiting for his approval. The Linoone chuckled and gestured with his head for Gin to leave. Gin took off quickly, handing his cup to Aqua and scarfing down the rest of his food beforehand, leaving the two older Pokemon alone. Kurrin looked over to Aqua and smiled. "What?"

"I like the gown." He complimented and began drinking again, causing the Marshtomp to blush from his compliment and fix the strayed strap so it rested on her shoulder again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: Best Buds, No Matter What**

Gin felt his heart skip a beat when his eyes stopped on the small Mudkip curled up on the plush bed, but move once she heard the door open. He smiled brightly and Sapphire returned a smile of her own. He walked up slowly towards her bed and stood there, unsure of what to say all of a sudden.

"No 'Good morning Sapphire, it's nice to see you.'?" Sapphire teased, causing Gin to blush just a bit. "Take a seat." She patted at a spot on the bed for him and he happily took it, climbing on top. "So."

"So," Gin couldn't help but grin widely at her. All his fear had disappeared once seeing her face, how happy she seemed to see him. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"It's okay, the nurse said I was just paralyzed, no serious damage done. Though, I have to say, they gave me some nasty medicine for it, I would have much preferred some Cheri berries instead." Sapphire stuck her tongue out in disgust from the mere memory of the horrid liquid. Gin stifled a laugh then sighed. "I hope you weren't beating yourself up about it."

"Just a little..ow!" Gin cried out from a whack to the head with the broad fin atop the Mudkip's head. She pouted angrily at him.

"You dummy, it wasn't your fault. I know you wouldn't have done something to hurt me on purpose." Gin could see her cheeks change slightly in color as she reprimanded him. "So stop feeling bad about, okay?"

"Okay," Gin smiled softly at his friend. "I don't know what was up with..whatever that was. I never used anything like that."

"Did you talk to Kurrin about it? If it's a new attack, I'm sure he'd know what it is." Sapphire spoke up, her sweet tone returning to her voice. "It's crazy scary!" Gin nodded, feeling a shiver run through him from what happened last night. It was scary for the small Pokemon to use and he didn't want to keep it. He didn't plan on using such an attack ever again. A feeling of wanting to apologize again crept up, but Gin held it back knowing Sapphire would only get angry at him for doing so.

"I did, but we didn't get into too much detail of it. I..am kinda scared he'll call off my training because of it." Gin sighed and fell back on the soft bed, he looked up towards Sapphire who wore a disheartened expression on her face. "I don't want to give up my training, Sapphire."

"I know, but I don't think Kurrin would do that. It was an accident, he knows you wouldn't hurt me ,or anyone for that matter, on purpose." Sapphire reassured him. Gin wanted to believe her, but there was a small part of him that doubted, doubted that Kurrin would see things his or her way. He didn't really want to think about it, at least for now. Instead, Gin changed the subject, asking how her mother and grandmother was. She told him that they were completely okay once they got home from the Center and didn't hold any grudges towards her friend. This helped relieve Gin even more. Then they spoke about other things.

Sapphire brought up the strange dream she had about talking berries and dancing trees. Perhaps she was working too much, she contemplated. Gin only laughed, finding how confused the Mudkip would had been in a place like that.

"You know, I had a weird dream too, well, not as strange as dancing trees and berries singing songs, but weird still." Gin locked his fingers in between each other over his stomach while Sapphire lied beside him, eyes shut as she listened.

"What kind of dream was it?"

"It was like a dream of my life?" It sounded more like a question than an actual statement. "I mean, it was me, but at the same time, it wasn't. Kurrin was there, but we weren't here."

"In Littleroot?"

"Yeah, we were somewhere else." Gin went on, going over mostly everything that happened in his dream, the treasures he saved, that menacing Luxio, the growing rain and lightning, and the odd creature he saw at sea. He could still make out the darkened shape of it in the water and the luminescent blue light that coarse through the strange markings on its body. Its ear-shattering roar that now echoed in his head when he recalled it. Sapphire, now sitting up, was amazed to hear about such a dream. "It was weird." Gin finished.

"Sounds like a really amazing dream, Gin! What kind of Pokemon was it?" The Treecko shrugged his shoulders, never seeing anything that large ever in his life. Then again, he didn't ever venture out further than Odale, so who knows. Perhaps it was real and somewhere swimming in the vast waters of Hoenn.

The two were about to continue their endless chatting, but was interrupted when they heard the familiar shrieking cry outside that sent them both racing towards Sapphire's window. Their eyes wide and bright as they scanned the sky, searching for the source of the sound when they finally locked their eyes on their target. In the sky, flapping lazily while singing loudly, was a Pelipper, not really taking notice of anything else around or below them. Gin was first to head towards the door, soon followed by Sapphire who went to make up her bed. The two scurried off to where Kurrin and Aqua were still sitting, talking with some half eaten food and emptied cups between them. The two adult Pokemon turned their attention to the little ones bouncing excitedly.

"Whoa, what's up you two?" Aqua questioned her bouncy daughter.

"Bernard's outside!" She squealed. Kurrin's smile grew upon hearing the news.

"Is it already that time?" He rose from the bench and turned to Aqua, taking her fins into his hands. "It was a pleasure speaking with you Aqua and thank you for the lovely meal and for filling my order." Gin just noticed the overstuffed sack of colorful berries and couldn't help himself as he dug inside for a Rawst berry to eat. Aqua smiled, freeing one of her fins from his grasp to cover her face slightly to hide the blush forming there.

"It was no problem, Kurrin, stop by again whenever you like." She smiled sweetly at him. Kurrin turned his attention then to Gin.

"Come on before that bird ends up getting too far."

"Can I go too, momma?" Sapphire looked up to her mother with pleading eyes which easily won over the Marshtomp.

"Okay, but be back soon, you still need to eat something." Aqua knelt down and planted a loving kiss on her daughter's head.

"Thank you!" Sapphire joined the two males outside the shop, looking up to see the Pelipper had reached a good distance away from them. They were headed towards the large tree both Kurrin and Gin lived in. "Aw, he's too far.."

"No he isn't." Kurrin smirked and cupped his hands around his mouth before letting out his booming, deep voice. "BERNARD!" The bird nearly lost his composure and dropped from the sky before turning to see the Linoone and two little ones in the distance. Bernard echoed back as he flapped his broad wings mightily and headed towards them.

"KURRIN!"

Gin and Sapphire couldn't suppress their laughter as the bird Pokemon overshot his landing and ended up rolling across the ground, ruffling up his feathers and scattered around small parcels and letters from the bag that was strapped over his body. The three helped picking everything up however as Bernard straightened himself out. Once he was back to normal, he fluttered over to Kurrin and landed right in front of him.

"What are you doing all the way out here? I rarely see you away from that tree of yours." Bernard chuckled as he placed the gathered mail back into his bag. The bird was a delivery Pokemon and worked as the main deliverer of mail for the surrounding towns, from Littleroot to Rustboro. With all this flying about however, he only made stops once or twice a week. Gin was glad he wasn't a bird Pokemon as he viewed constantly flapping your arms would be extremely tiring.

"Just getting some food and seeing friends. How have you been?" Kurrin and Bernard were as close as friends as Kurrin was ever going to get in Gin's eyes.

"Eh, you know. Work has been taking its toll a bit, but I'm fine."

"Mr. Bernard," Gin spoke up, getting the delivery Pokemon's attention. "Did anything come for me?" Gin's tail twitched in anticipation as Bernard's face twisted into contemplation. The Pelipper was really good at his job and could remember who was suppose to be receiving mail rather than constantly looking at his list.

"Oh yes! Another poster came in for you." He dug around in the bag, grabbing a rolled up poster for the smaller Pokemon. Gin thanked him happily and grabbed it, quickly taking off the seal that kept it shut before opening it to reveal a special poster he ordered a week ago. The limited edition poster featured a beautifully taken image of Aliciana, a Milotic and leader of Sootopolis City. She was viewed as the most beautiful Pokemon of Hoenn! Gin blushed deeply looking at the poster which earned him a rough nudge in the side by Sapphire. "Oh!" Gin and Sapphire jumped in unison when Bernard spoke up again. "I brought something else I thought you little ones would be interested in." He shuffled around in his bag for a moment before finally pulling out another poster, but this was was even more special. The bright colors of the poster featured Pokemon Gin and Sapphire had never seen before, but two stuck out, with them being Silver and Aliciana. Scrawled in huge letters across the top were 'Team Rescue presents: Junior Rescue Tryouts'.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen: News About The Tryouts**

The two small Pokemon loomed over the promotional poster with expressions Kurrin nor Bernard could pinpoint what emotion they were showing. Team Rescue, a name both Gin and Sapphire knew as they were the big organization that created teams of the most strongest Pokemon. Gin was the first to finally look up, his gaze going from Kurrin to Bernard.

"This is real?" The Treecko had a slight shiver to his tone as he directed his question towards the bird. Bernard smiled and confirmed that it was, stating that the posters were displayed all over the main cities and towns in Hoenn. Apparently Team Rescue are in the process of looking into taking on some young Pokemon to become Rescuers. Sapphire soon joined in on their conversation, excitement practically oozing from her voice.

"So _we_ can become an actual team?!" Bernard nodded.

"I suppose you can, but I'm not too sure on all the details to be honest. I figured you two might be interested in at least taking part of the event. I'm sure it's going to be huge." Gin turned his attention back to the poster, reading over the smaller text.

It stated that the event will be taking place in a city called Rustboro in a matter of weeks - three weeks to be exact. The poster was littered with a few images, with Silver and Aliciana being two he could recognize. Apparently, the two Pokemon would be there, as stated, to act as judges themselves. He'd get to meet Silver, _the_ Sliver! For a second, Gin couldn't breath. The mere thought of Pokemon from all over Hoenn coming to test their strength in front of some of the strongest Pokemon around. It was something Gin deeply wanted, but a thought came to his mind. What would Kurrin think about it? With this new attack he couldn't control, he doubted Kurrin would allow him to go. He looked over at his teacher carefully. Kurrin noticed this and could instantly read the smaller Pokemon's mind.

"Are you interested in this?" He asked, voice neutrally toned. He held out his hand, gesturing for the poster as Gin handed it over to him. The Linoone gave a quick look over before returning his gaze back onto Gin.

"A little." Gin replied, rubbing his arm nervously. Sapphire nudged Gin hard, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"Come on Gin, this could be great!" Sapphire beamed brightly at her friend, tail fin wagging from all the excitement.

"I agree, you always talk about growing stronger and I think testing your strength against other Pokemon other than Kurrin would be a learning experience at least." Bernard added. Gin felt a bit embarrassed having all their attention on him.

"W-Well yeah, I think so too, but I just started my training.." Gin sighed, feeling that he was talking himself out of this. Kurrin watched Gin's body language as he spoke and sighed himself.

"I think it would make a great learning experience, like Bernard said," The older Pokemon spoke up, shocking the small Treecko. "But I will be coming along." This caught all of their attention, all eyes going onto him. "What?"

"You," Bernard spoke up. "Are going to leave further than Odale?" His voice hiding a teasing tone to it.

"As Gin said, he had just started his training with me and I can't have him getting hurt if he can't hold his own." Kurrin couldn't help a small quiver at the thought of leaving his home. His arms crossed over his chest, trying to push the overbearing feeling away. Gin needed him to come along. "But this is merely a training opportunity for you." His eyes narrowed down at Gin, the strict, teacher side of him coming out. The small Pokemon stiffened suddenly. "You are not joining anything." Sapphire pouted, but refrained from saying anything, seeing how serious Kurrin was. Gin nodded slowly, already sensing his friend's over-thrilled aura rapidly dissipating. "Sapphire, I advise you to speak to your mother about this if you are to join." She nodded as well.

"Oh don't go and ruin the kiddies' fun, Kurrin." Bernard stuck his tongue out at Kurrin playfully and managed a tiny smile from him. "This is suppose to be fun for them. Oh! Deary me," The Pelipper's feathers ruffled when noticing that he was still on duty. He dug around hectically in his bag, pulling out a few more letters for the residents in Littleroot and handed them to Sapphire, knowing her mother would help distribute them to everyone. "Still got to drop the rest of this stuff off! I'll drop by again soon, I wanna catch up with you, Kurrin, we have a lot to chat about." He directed towards the Linoone and stepped a few feet away, stretching out his long, broad wings and started flapping hard to get himself into the air. He screeched a goodbye once he was far enough and went back to his terribly loud singing.

"Well, I'm sure you two got some things to talk about," Sapphire spoke up, breaking the short silence that followed after Bernard's departure. "I need to talk to my momma. Gin," She smiled at the Treecko, a certain light in her eyes that made Gin's heart beat just a bit faster for some odd reason. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, okay." He waved her goodbye before she disappeared back into the berry shop, leaving him and his teacher alone. "So...you're coming along?"

"Yes," Kurrin started the walk back to their home and was followed by Gin close behind. "I knew that little Sapphire had an interest in this stuff, but not you."

"You mean the Rescuer stuff?" Kurrin nodded. "Well, I do find it interesting, but I never wished to join Team Rescue myself." He had gotten the poster back from Kurrin, now looking down at it as they walked. As the excitement slowly died down from the news, a nervousness started to take its place. There were going to be a lot of Pokemon there and he'd be getting judged by someone like Silver. He'd be lying if he didn't say he was a bit scared. But, for now, he'd take things one step at a time and right now he had to worry about his training. His eyes scanned over the deadline for sign-ups. Three weeks. Gin had no idea how far Rustboro was, but he hoped he had just enough time to get even a little stronger, learn a few more things, and try to rid himself of this terrifying attack that he has somehow attained. "Am I going to..are we going to keep training?" He found himself asking softly.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"B-Because of..you know, _that_." Kurrin looked over to Gin for a second before looking back ahead. Their tree was coming into view.

"Of course we will not stop training over that. If anything, you need more training in order to control it." Gin rubbed at his arm nervously and was about to speak up again, but decided on leaving their conversation there. He didn't want to _control_ it, he wanted to be _rid_ of the move, but he chose to leave it at that since Kurrin did agree that their training would still resume, which was a relief itself.

The two headed inside and Gin felt that he was getting one step closer to his goal.

 **On The Path For The Journey Ahead**

 _The Jewel of Life. The very being of Arceus, something that needed to be destroyed. Arceus' "gift" of life was nothing but a cruel and humorless joke. That is what they thought, what they believed, what they preached. However, the mortals had ignored them, told them they were insane,_ foolish _to try and test their god. They tried to make a world for them, a world of true freedom, but...they failed._

 _And now, they were gone. In a place devoid of any life, of any existence.. A place where not even Arceus' light could reach. Here they neither existed or lived, but here is where they stayed. However, something had reached the depths of this place, something they had not heard in a very long time, a voice._

Everything hurt, badly, but he kept going, kept moving and dodging and attacking altogether in order to keep up with the swiftness of his teacher. The Treecko was now resting on a branch, trying to catch his breath and redirect his focus from the pain shooting up his leg. A bolt of thunder to the leg was extremely painful. So far, it had been a solid week into his new training course with Kurrin which now involved cramming sessions and intense full-on battles like this. The Linoone was not letting up on him, which of course triggered his mysterious attack a few times, well, actually only twice since their training intensified. One had managed to graze his teacher, but he showed no signs of being deeply affected by it, just slowed down.

Gin caught sight of his teacher moving in on him and readied a Bullet Seed attack. He inhaled a deep breath and fired when he was close enough, giving him a face-full of the seeds. This slowed Kurrin down, but not for too long as he charged his claws, swinging at Gin with a Slash. The smaller Pokemon quickly dodged it, letting him fall to the ground after his claws crushed the branch. Despite his attacks not having too much of an effect on his teacher, his movements were growing faster, allowing him to dodge Kurrin's attacks more and more. Gin landed on another branch, but leapt into the air above Kurrin while he stirred on the ground below. The Treecko curled up and wheeled down towards him, gaining great momentum for his tail attack, slamming his thick tail hard on Kurrin's head. A guttural growl came from the Linoone as he rubbed at his head.

Gin smirked, now facing him on the forest floor.

"Your attacks.." Kurrin managed through gritted teeth. "Are getting better, slightly more effective than before." He couldn't help but smile, feeling proud of his student and his growth. It had been only a week and Gin was showing small signs of surprising development. The older Pokemon had scheduled for their departure from Littleroot in the remaining week of the deadline, stating that Rustboro was not too far from their town so not as to worry Gin about being late. For now, he told him, the two of them will focus on their training.

Gin didn't mind so much, but he couldn't help but wonder how Sapphire was doing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen: A Murkrow-y Morning**

The morning time was always a pleasant time for work, was what Sapphire's grandmother believed and enforced since her own mother was her age. In turn, Aqua raised her daughter by this spoken rule and now the little Mudkip was use to waking up early, to the point of not even needing anyone to wake her up around that time. Sapphire was out early on her own as Aqua and Marine went out to deal with an order in Odale. The Marshtomp was against it at first, but with some coaxing from Marine and Sapphire, Aqua caved in. She hummed a little tune as she walked from sapling to sapling, gently pouring water onto them. It was nice, she had to agree, the morning air was crisp from a light shower of rain from last night, but while she worked, her mind was still somewhere else. Sapphire had been thinking about the news of Team Rescue's event in Rustboro. She always believed she'd have to attempt to join once she was older, but thank the heavens above for giving her this opportunity to start at this age. She giggled excitedly to herself as she envisioned being on a legit rescue team, with her as the mighty and brave Sapphire. The small, aquatic Pokemon was lost in her thoughts as she continued on with her chore of watering, not noticing a bird Pokemon landing on a nearby branch of a more developed tree. They grinned as they watched Sapphire work obliviously then turned their attention to the fruit leftover from Sapphire's picking. The black bird managed to snag a plump Cheri berry from its place and used its talons to hold onto it while digging in.

Sapphire finally noticed the bird and dropped her watering pail, getting into a defensive position.

"Hey, that's not yours! Get out of here!" She hollered at the scavenger, but they didn't seem to mind as they finished off their food. "I'm giving you a warning, you either buzz off or I'll blast you!" The small Pokemon threatened, readying a Water Gun attack. After the scavenger ignored her again, finishing their berry then proceeded to look for another, she attacked, propelling a jet of water in their direction. However, she missed, the black bird taking off the branch before even a drop hit them. She tried firing at them again, but with each blast of water, she missed.

"What's a runt like you doing out here anyways?" The bird mocked as it stayed in flight. Sapphire really hated Murkrow, they were absolute jackasses and had made it their goal to try and get free meals from her family's orchard. Once or twice, the flocks were so bad, that they managed to pick clean nearly half of their trees and was well known as one of the worst travesties for their berry shop. It was extremely important to ward off these pests. Sapphire glared at the Murkrow before her then gave her surroundings a look over. The idiot was alone. "The daffy old woman left her brat to watch over everything? Not a great decision for the business in my eyes."

"Shut up and get out of here." Sapphire demanded with a stern tone in her voice. This caught the Murkrow off guard for a moment before they regained their composure.

"And if I don't?" The Mudkip didn't reply with an answer, rather, she readied another attack. This time, she used a Mud-Slap, catching the bird off guard again and got the thick, wet mud splattered on their face. Unable to see, the Murkrow lashed out blindly with an attack of their own, creating orbs of dark energy to fling in Sapphire's direction. She was ready to dodge them but remembered the small saplings behind her. Dang it, she cursed herself mentally and fired a powerful Water Gun to intercept the orbs. Luckily, her attack stopped the hail of Shadow Balls. The Murkrow was now somewhat glaring at her, their eyes barely being open thanks to the heavy mud that tried to keep them closed. "That was a cheat shot, brat.." Sapphire couldn't help a cocky smirk to grow on her face.

"Well you shouldn't underestimate Pokemon like me." She geared up another Water Gun to send the flying pest across the world, but was pelted in the side by a huge Shadow Ball. The impact left her flying across the ground, and once she came to a stop, her side was screaming in pain. The attack was overpoweringly strong, so strong, she could barely even get up. Sapphire managed to at least turn her head enough to spot something in the distance, resting her gaze on wild trees that was close to the fields. A heavyset Honchkrow sat there, perched along with a few other Murkrow now becoming visible from the shadows of the trees behind.

"Why are you toying with the girl, Ferrow?" The Honchkrow turned their attention to the mud-covered Murkrow she was just about to send off. They turned away from the larger bird and the other Murkrow, obviously embarrassed. The Honchkrow waved a wing and soon the berry fields were consumed by multiple Murkrow, all pecking free the few other ripe berries that were left. Sapphire attempted to scream for anyone's, but her head was pushed deeply into the ground by a Murkrow grunt she hadn't seen coming. The small Pokemon thrashed underneath the pressure, but they kept their claw dug into the back of her head. "Can't have you calling for help just yet, not until my friends here have their fill." Sapphire struggled even harder when she heard the gruff voice of the Honchkrow closer to her. The fat bird must have landed nearby.

She couldn't let this continue, her mother and grandmother would be greatly disappointed in her that she let these jerks run all over her. The small Mudkip, with all her struggling, finally managed to buck off the Murkrow on top of her. Now free and without thinking, she turned into the direction she heard the voice from and headbutted the boss bird square in the gut, sending their feathery ass into a tree. The sudden commotion had stopped all the Murkrow in their feeding frenzy, all their attention on their boss who now was pressed up against a tree, heaving and coughing as if to vomit.

Sapphire herself was panting, sucking in as much air as possible after being held in the ground for too long.

"G-Get out!" She managed to shout out loud, startling the flock as if a large Pokemon were the one shouting at them. The birds readied to take off, but were stopped when their boss spoke up.

"You..insolent little shit.." The Honchkrow rose to their feet, still breathing heavy, but then moved with such speed that Sapphire didn't even see them coming before she was slashed at, their wing engulfed in an eerie glow that signified a Night Slash. She cried out and felt her body tense up in pain. The boss then grabbed Sapphire by her head, squeezing her threateningly with their sharp talons sinking into her. "Children like you really should be inside, this clearly isn't a place for brats." The boss bird squeezed harder, earning a pain-filled cry from Sapphire. Tears started to dot her eyes as a few thin trails of blood ran down her head from where the talons punctured her soft skin.

The Murkrow around her began to laugh and mock the small Pokemon, erupting in a cackling audience. The Honchkrow finally dropped her, leaving Sapphire there on the ground, figuring she wouldn't dare move.

"Learn your place, child."

Sapphire silently cried from the pain in her head and the embarrassment from the taunting laughs around her. How was she going to be a Rescuer if she couldn't even chase off some stupid birds?

Something then riled up inside her and, with a force she didn't know she possessed, rose to her feet, still a bit wobbly. The Honchkrow turned to see she was standing and smirked.

"Still want to fight, huh? I guess I'm just gonna have to teach you a _permanent_ lesson." The clear threat laced in their words hadn't scared Sapphire. The Murkrow around them fell into a bone-chilling silence to see how this battle will go down as the two Pokemon faced each other. Sapphire's eyes burned with a ferocity that actually caught the larger bird's attention. A look they had seen themselves, a look that scared them and reminded them of why they chose to raid these fields when _she_ wasn't around.

"I don't want to fight," Sapphire positioned herself in a stance that meant she was ready to attack. All the while, something inside the small Pokemon swirled and bubbled, leaving her body tingling from the sensation, and was ready to dispel whatever it was inside her. The Honchkrow took a step back, causing their grunts to begin to rile up in worry. "I want you to leave." She hissed at them before taking the deepest breath she ever took and screamed. This was no ordinary scream however, as it sent powerful, ear-shattering sound waves all around, causing the flock to all cry out in agony from them. Some fell to the ground as others took to the air, flying away so to escape the torturing sounds. The head honcho them self was taken aback by the shocking waves, getting hit sound wave after sound wave, each one sending them farther and farther until the bird could no longer take it before they were close to fainting. The Honchkrow took off, flapping weakly as they called for a retreat, which most of the grunts didn't need as they were already gone or in the process of flying off.

Sapphire kept this up a little longer until the flock was completely gone before she finally stopped. Her throat felt scratchy and everything else just plain old hurt. The small Pokemon dropped to the ground, fatigued and feeling a massive headache coming along. It wasn't until after a full minute or so that she realized she just used a new attack! And boy, was it something. She managed to scare off a whole flock of Murkrow with it! A smile crossed her face despite the pain she was in.

She'd have to ask her mother what was it that she had just learned.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Momma's Baby Girl**

Of course she was nearly brokenhearted when Aqua returned to find her daughter bandaged up, just finishing up from cleaning and patching up the puncture wounds on her head. The Marshtomp asked over a million questions which most flew over Sapphire's head due to the rapid speed they were coming at her. Marine offered to look over her wounds and praised Sapphire rather for her bravery. Eventually Sapphire's mother did the same, quite surprised herself that she was able to chase off the flock. The Marshtomp had to make a note to herself to hunt those bastards down and give them a piece of her mind, but for now, her Sapphy needed her momma. She scooped up her little baby and held her tightly in her arms.

"I'm sorry, Sapphy." Aqua whispered softly to her daughter, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. Sapphire looked up to her and smiled, nuzzling her up underneath her chin.

"I'm okay, momma." Sapphire giggled. "It was just a little scratch, don't worry."

"She isn't a baby, love." Marine added, settling her tiny body next to her daughter. The elderly Pokemon rested her head against Aqua's side, a bit exhausted from their trip. "Sapphire is a tough one." Sapphire blushed a bit from her grandmother's encouragement. She was right, Sapphire thought to herself, she wasn't some little girl who needed constant protection. Finally the doting Marshtomp could no longer hold back her tears, a few drops falling onto her daughter underneath her. "I know you care about her and you want to protect her, I do too, but you have to let her continue to grow."

"I-I know ma.." Aqua sniffled and squeezed her hold on her daughter a bit, wishing she could always have her little Sapphy in her arms like this, but her own mother was right. Eventually Sapphire will grow into an adult and she won't need her mother's protection. Some day she'd have her own little one to protect, which the thought made her smile to herself. Sapphire was growing up and no longer a defenseless baby.

"Momma, I really am okay, I'm really tough too." Sapphire continued on, telling her family of the jerky Honchkrow and the new move she used to send the vermin with wings running, well, flying actually. Marine and Aqua were shocked and thought about what the attack was, going through their memory banks of what it was. Aqua was the one to speak up and claimed she had remembered seeing something of that description a long time ago. The three females continued their conversation together over some tea and treats Marine had brought while they were out. They all enjoyed each others company, allowing Sapphire to take her mind off the slight pain left in her head.

The day was closing to an end and Sapphire was getting ready for bed. After a nice relaxing bath, the Mudkip had dried off and climbed into bed, nuzzled under her sheets. Aqua poked her head in the room and beamed at her daughter, stepping inside. She made her way over to the bed and helped tuck Sapphire in, leaving a peck on her head gently so not to disturb the bandages on top.

"All set?" Aqua asked. Sapphire smiled up to her mother and replied with a tiny 'yes'. "I really am proud of you, you know that right? What you did today took a lot of courage to do."

"Thanks momma," Sapphire tried not to gush from her mother's comment. The Marshtomp rubbed her daughter's cheek lovingly and gave her another little peck. "Momma?" Aqua pulled back enough to meet her Sapphy's gaze.

"Yes, my little Sapphy?" Sapphire struggled with trying to speak for a moment, trying her hardest to make up the words she wanted to say. Aqua noticed her internal struggling and asked, voice hinting with concern. "Something wrong?" Sapphire quickly shook her head, seeing her mother's worry.

"No, no, it's just..about the rescue tryouts. I really wanna take part in them." Aqua settled herself on the bed beside Sapphire, keeping her eyes locked on the small Pokemon as she spoke. "I know I have a roll here in the shop, but I really want to be a Rescuer and this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to do it, to go after it. This is my chance to go after something I really want."

"But it is dangerous, sweetie." Aqua's voice shook a bit, trying not to tear up. "You could get hurt.."

"I know, but it's something I want, momma." The little aquatic Pokemon scooted close to where her mother sat and rested her head on her lap. "I want to go with Gin and Kurrin to Rustboro, please." The mothering Pokemon was a failure when it came to holding back her emotions when it came to her daughter and began to shed small tears. She caressed her daughter's head a few times before resting it still on a spot not covered by a bandage. This was her little girl, her precious, tiny gift from above. To send her away to do something like that was too much for her. Sapphire looked up to her mother's tear-stained face and sat up. "I know you love me and want me to stay here,"

"I do.." She pulled her hands away so she could wipe at her tears. She was doing a lot of crying today.

"But I don't want to miss out on my shot at my dream." Sapphire nuzzled up to Aqua's side, which allowed the Marshtomp to pull her into a tight embrace. "I love you, momma."

"I love you too, Sapphy." Aqua managed to utter through her crying. The smaller Pokemon allowed her to continue to cry and squeeze her in her vice-like hold until she finally calmed down. Aqua released her daughter so the two could look each other in the face. "I guess I'd be a terrible mother to hold you back from your dream, huh?" She giggled softly through remaining tears and sniffles. "If this is what you want, then I can't keep you here." The Marshtomp smiled from Sapphire's expression lighting to life. "If you do this then you better wipe the floor with everyone else there!"

Sapphire leapt from her spot into her mother's chest and buried her face into her body to muffle her delighted screams. Aqua wrapped her up in one final embrace.

"You are amazing, Sapphy."

"I'm only amazing because I got it from you." Sapphire giggled in her mother's arms. The two stayed like that for a while before finally she released her and tucked her back into bed. With one last kiss, the Marshtomp rose and left the room.

Late into the night, Sapphire couldn't seem to rest, her excitement causing her body to keep herself awake, so she left her room. The small Mudkip exited her bedroom through her window, heading out into the night alone. Her nerves were jittery and her mind was racing. Sapphire was still amazed she got permission from her mother to go! Never in a million years would she had guessed her mother would accept her decision to do such a thing. A small smile etched its way on her face as she headed to somewhere she could relax. Her and Gin's casual spot.

Sapphire admired the pond upon reaching it, amazed to see the moon's reflection on the water's surface. She walked over and nestled herself on the edge of the pond, looking at the reflection.

"What the? What are you doing out here?" Sapphire nearly jumped out of her skin as she quickly turned to see Gin staring back at her, just as shocked as she was. Sapphire was about to rise to her feet, but stopped when he started making his way over to her. He took the position beside her, letting his feet sink into the water, causing ripples to ruin the moon's reflection on top. "I didn't think I'd find you here."

"We always come here to hang out." Sapphire giggled. "Where else would I be?"

"You know what I mean, what are you doing out here so late?"

"I could ask you the same, Gin." She turned her head to look at her friend. He didn't seem to be in a joking mood, so she turned back away. "What are _you_ doing out here?"

"I couldn't sleep." He admitted without hesitation.

"Same here." Sapphire admitted as well. The two sat in relative silence after that. Now thinking about it, she hadn't seen Gin in a couple of days, she wondered how he was doing. _Wanted_ to ask how he was doing, but for some weird reason, she couldn't bring herself to do so. Something was off with him. "Can I ask why you couldn't?"

"Just feeling on edge?" He questioned himself as he pulled his feet from the water to curl his knees towards his chest, keeping them there with his arms wrapped around them.

"About the trip or the tryouts?" Sapphire asked.

"Both, me and Kurrin went over the plans for the trip today." This caught Sapphire's attention. She herself was curious of how far the trip would be for them.

"How long are we talking about days wise?"

"Kurrin said it'd take about four to five days if we take stops. We'd go through Odale, onto Petalburg, then Petalburg Woods, and finally we'd stop in Rustboro." Gin sighed and allowed his gaze up towards the moon and stars above. "How do you feel about all this?" Sapphire had to think for a moment. Of course she felt excited and pumped she was going to go and try out to be a Rescuer, but at the same time, she felt also a bit overwhelmed when really letting the question sink in. There were going to be Pokemon from all over at this event, Pokemon of all kinds of backgrounds and who knows what kind of training they had been doing. She could see why her friend was having some trouble staying giddy about it. But this was her dream! She couldn't back out of it just because she was scared.

"I'm a little worried. This is something I've been wanting to do for so long and now that it's here.. It's life changing." Gin sensed the dread in her voice, which was rare as she was usually the more peppier one out of their duo. The one who saw the sunshine past the evil storms ahead and he admired her greatly for that. It was easy for himself to see the negative of things, but not her. "But at the same time, I'm really thrilled. To face up against Pokemon from all over Hoenn to do something as great as becoming a Rescuer! It's amazing!" She jumped to her feet, tail fin wagging as a result of her sudden happy energy. "We could be a team, Gin." She turned her attention to him, her smile sending a deep blush across his face. "Kicking butt and taking names, that's what we'll be doing." He smiled back at her and rose to his own feet.

"Definitely," He hadn't thought about what he wanted to do with his life, but perhaps, if he succeeds at the tryouts, that maybe looking into being a Rescuer with his best friend wouldn't be too bad. "Me and you, Sapphire."

"I'm glad we'll be going together, I couldn't imagine being partnered with anyone else." Sapphire said happily.

"Same here." Gin replied, just as happy as she was.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen: I Didn't Attend Parenting 101**

The next few days were a blur for Gin, for his schedule was reduced to simply waking up, eating, training, then sleeping, only to wake up again and do it all over. He'd be lying if he didn't say it got a bit draining. At the end of the training sessions, his body ached from being attacked by powerful Thunderbolts, Slashes, and Shadow Ball barrages. Luckily though, Kurrin would heal him right before dinner, going over strategies and criticisms he believed were helpful. But even after the nitpicking, the Linoone praised Gin for his efforts for the day and this of course made the Treecko happy to hear. Gin was glad he was making some real progress due to his new goal to and that was to become a Rescuer. But the only thing was how he was going to convince Kurrin about wanting to join Team Rescue..

Their usual training grounds were a mess, littered with fallen branches along with scorched and ripped up earth left behind from various attacks from the the two. Currently, they were in the midst of a battle, and a fiery one at that. It had begun early in the dawn and continued long throughout the rest of the morning.

Kurrin had summoned a terrifyingly strong thunderbolt, sending it into Gin's direction, which the smaller Pokemon managed to dodge. The bolt hit a tree previously behind him, causing it to now bare a blackened, scorching bruise that threatened to catch on fire. Gin paid it no mind however as he counteracted with his Bullet Seed attack. The Linoone had moved with lightning speed, but still got caught by the volley of painful seeds that sapped away at his HP. The attack wasn't much, but now packed some fight behind it as evidence by the big chunk of health it took from Kurrin. He finally escaped the barrage thanks to the shelter of a tree. Gin stopped his attack and took to climbing into the treetops to gain an advantage from above. The small Treecko leapt from branch to branch in silence, barely making a sound as he jumped and soon caught sight of Kurrin. From up above, he left the branch, jumping overhead of him to try a tail attack.

The older Pokemon caught onto what Gin was doing instantaneously, and with amazing speed, he created a shadowy orb and sent it spiraling towards him. Gin braced himself as he could not dodge the attack mid-air and used his arms to block his face from getting damaged as the orb made contact, sending him flying. Kurrin followed the direction to which he blasted him towards, charging his claws for a Slash attack.

Gin finally landed and was faced with Kurrin about to strike him with his claws. He responded by using his increased speed to collide into the older Pokemon's body, knocking him off balance with his Tackle. The Linoone fell backwards with Gin on top of him, both panting heavily as his own claws lost their soft glow.

"Give up?" Gin asked cockily in between breaths.

"I surrender." Kurrin replied, not from actual defeat, as he still had plenty of HP left, but from merely just tiredness. He wasn't as spry as he used to be. The Linoone sat up, causing Gin to roll off his body and onto the ground in front of him. Gin smiled up at him and rose to his feet, impressed with himself that he was getting stronger.

Kurrin smiled back at Gin, slowly getting onto his own feet as well.

"Feeling proud of yourself?" He asked, rubbing at his back as he felt the soreness start to make its way up along his spine. He really was getting old, he sighed internally.

"I am! Before I could barely put a dent in your HP, but now I can actually do some damage with my attacks!" Gin nearly jumped from joy. It reminded Kurrin of someone long ago which made him smile from the sweet moment now and the bitter memory that tugged at his mind from his past. "What about you?" Kurrin snapped away from the memory and put all of his attention back onto his student. "Do you think I can do this?"

"Do what?"

"Win at these tryouts." Kurrin's brow arched from his reply. When did Gin want to actually place in the tryouts? He assumed the small Pokemon didn't care whether or not he made it.

"And why does that matter?" Gin realized he slipped up and grew small in stature when realizing this. Kurrin's soft features tightened up, the growing pain in his back slowly getting stronger, but for now, he ignored it the best he could, continuing to rub at his back to try and soothe it. "Gin, why does it matter whether or not you pass the tryouts? I told you that you are not joining anything."

"I-I know, and I'm not." Gin answered quickly. Too quickly. Kurrin loomed over Gin, causing the the Treecko to grow even smaller from his intimidating size. His eyes narrowed down at him.

"Gin,"

"I said I'm not!"

"Don't you take that tone with me, Gin." Kurrin hissed at him angrily. What was this child thinking? He had no control or say over what his friend chose, but he was not letting Gin run off and join that ridiculous thing. An anger that the older Pokemon tried his hardest to repress was slowly seeping out and the flaring pain in his back was as well. He winced at the feeling and backed off of Gin, biting back a pain-filled groan. Damn he was old, he cursed to himself. "What are you thinking about?" He asked through somewhat gritted teeth.

"Nothing."

"Don't 'nothing' me. I asked you a question." Gin fidgeted in his spot and Kurrin could see his fists balling and releasing at his sides. He hoped Gin wasn't planning on what he was thinking.

"I was talking to Sapphire," Gin started, giving into the intimidating teacher. "She has her heart set out on becoming a Rescuer and I have been thinking about it."

"I already told you that you're not joining." Kurrin's tone was harsh and low, making Gin cringe a bit when hearing it as he only heard this tone when he was being super stern. "I don't care what Sapphire wants to do, _you_ are staying here."

"And what if I don't want to?" Gin mumbled, kinda regretting he said anything when Kurrin glared darkly at him.

" _You_ are under my care and _I_ am your guardian." Kurrin angrily hissed, the pain now a pulsing sensation that helped fuel his fowl mood he was now in. "If I said you aren't going, then you aren't, do I make myself clear, Gin?"

"That's not fair!"

"That's enough Gin." Kurrin tried reeling back his building anger, but was failing the more Gin protested against him.

"No, it's not. Before, I only wanted to do this, _all_ of this, just to be strong, but what would be the point of growing stronger just to stay here?!" Gin shouted, his tone holding its own level of anger to it. "At least with this, I can have something meaningful to achieve, to help other Pokemon with my strength."

"I said that's enough!"

"I am not going to stay here forever, Kurrin, Rescuer or not..!" Gin was getting fed up with Kurrin talking to him in such a way, as if he couldn't change his mind to be something better. "I rather use my strength to help others rather than..than..than..." Kurrin was about to speak, to tell him to stop before he'd say something he'd regret, but was too late as the words escaped Gin's lips. "Than...someone who _can_ help others, but chooses to hide away like some coward!" The comment clearly directed towards the Linoone himself.

Gin instantly wish he could take back what he said as Kurrin froze from the shock. The older Pokemon was surprised to hear such a thing from his student, his family, his..

The two Pokemon were wrapped in silence, neither knowing what to say or how to react really, but Kurrin eventually spoke up. His voice sounding defeated.

"The trip is canceled. You are clearly not ready."

"What?!"

"You heard me." Kurrin didn't bother looking at the hurt expression on Gin's face, focusing on getting to his feet. He needed to tend to his back. "We're going home. Now." The Treecko stayed in his place even when Kurrin began to head into the direction of their home. He didn't bother looking back, already knowing Gin's lack of following. "I said now, Gin."

"N-No," Gin's voice was wobbly as fresh tears fell, trembling from a mix of anger and hurt. "I can choose whatever I want to do..a-and you can't stop me!" Gin took off quickly, running up past Kurrin, and disappeared in the trees ahead. Of course he wanted to follow him, but his back would not allow him to run, let alone at Gin's speed. A tired, painful sigh escaped the old Linoone. Gin was right, _he_ was right...he couldn't keep Gin here forever, but a huge part of him wished he could. His claws dug into the ground as he fought off tears. A horrible memory was stuck replaying in his head the longer he stayed in place, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

He wanted so badly to keep Gin here. To keep him safe.

Meanwhile, the distraught Treecko had made it out of the forest and made a break for it towards town. His tears stung his eyes and flew backwards as he ran. Gin didn't want to be around anyone, running off to a familiar location, quickly making his way up a tree whose branches loomed over a pond slightly. He curled in on himself, bringing his knees up and used his arms to make a shelter to shield his face. The small Pokemon stayed hidden in the tree's leaves, blending in thanks to his similar pigment.

It wasn't fair, he had the right to choose whatever he wanted to do with his life, right? Kurrin was being a jerk, Gin thought to himself.

The tears finally stopped and left Gin with some hiccups and a runny nose. What a baby, he wiped at his tears, sighing at his own behavior. Gin stayed curled up in his spot in the tree, not wanting to return home, at least until Kurrin was asleep. Maybe he could go to Sapphire's? But Miss Aqua was sure to wonder why he was there instead of training and lying to the sweet woman was off the table for Gin. There was nowhere else he could really go, so he stayed put.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen: Thanks For The Company**

Kurrin hadn't bother to look for Gin due to the now unbearable, shooting pain in his back. The Linoone was sprawled on his bed after taking some medicinal herbs to put in his tea that was given to him from Marine a long while back ago. He thanked the elderly Mudkip internally for the herbs after he had grounded it up to blend into his tea. It helped ease his aching body and bring a soothing sensation to his back; the tea washing away any _physical_ pain he held. However, no amount of herbal-blended tea could wash away the pain that he felt in his heart. Kurrin couldn't stop thinking about his fight with Gin and how hurt the little Treecko was. It hurt deeply, but he definitely planned on making things right once Gin returned home. For now, he had to rest his back to allow the herb to fully take effect. Some sleep would help it stay in his system as he curled up into a comfortable ball on his bed, but his peace and quiet was short-lived due to the loud crowing that came from outside.

It was a bit of a distance away, but loud nonetheless and very familiar. He slowly rose from his bed and headed to the door when the melodic crowing sounded as if it was right outside. The old Linoone opened the door and smiled instantly when spotting the silly bird fail at landing, tumbling about until he stopped just at Kurrin's feet.

"Bernard," Kurrin chuckled a bit after witnessing another one of his epic landings. It was mind-blowing that the Pelipper was a bird, but could not land properly. Bernard managed to get to his feet, feathers ruffled up and sticking out of place.

"Hey, I hope you're free cause we need to catch up." Bernard used one of his wings to try and smooth out his feathers. His delivery bag was nowhere to be seen, so Kurrin figured his friend was off duty. He moved in, heading to the little kitchenette-like area to get some refreshments, allowing the Pelipper to waddled inside. "Where's Gin?" The bird asked after quickly giving the place a look over. Kurrin sighed as he filled two cups with his herbal tea.

"He's out right now." Kurrin responded, sounding a bit sad. Bernard noticed as he took his spot at the table.

"Something wrong?"

"I don't feel like talking about it right now." Kurrin soon joined him at the table and placed a cup in front of Bernard. Knowing the Linoone for quite some time, he knew when to pry and when to give the older Pokemon his space, so he did, moving the conversation along.

"Well how have you been?" He asked. Kurrin took a seat across from Bernard and drank slowly, taking time to think about his response. Bernard didn't like that, but he kept it to himself.

"I've been okay, back acting up again."

"Again? Is that why you're serving this?" Bernard teased, expressing greatly his dislike for the herbal blend by scrunching up his face. This managed another small chuckle from Kurrin.

"Yeah, sorry, I wasn't expecting you today."

"I don't mind, I'd drink the bitterest, sourest crap alive if it meant we could talk and hang out." Bernard proved this to the Linoone by taking a sip of his tea then shuddered when the hot liquid went down his gullet. Kurrin smiled warmly at this. Bernard was a really loyal friend. "So why's your back acting up anyways? Oh! Lemme guess, you've been exerting yourself with Gin and this training." A pinkish blush raced across Kurrin's face, proving that the bird was right. "Oh Kurrin, you know we ain't as young as before, you can't keep running yourself ragged."

"I'm not, I just landed on my back wrong. Luckily I have this tea though, so after I get some sleep, I'll feel better." Kurrin grasped his cup tightly in his hands. His eyes went to the Pelipper across from him and he could see that his friend was worried, even though he had a goofy smile plastered on his face.

Bernard left his spot from across the table and waddled over to Kurrin's side, sitting next to him. Soft fur rubbed up against slick feathers as their two bodies were pressed together. This caused Kurrin to blush even deeper and try to move away, but Bernard wasn't letting him as he would simply scoot back to his side whenever he tried to move.

"You know I worry about you, you old fart." Bernard sighed a bit, but his tone was playful, leaning against the Linoone.

"I know, I'm sorry." He gave in, resting his head on top of Bernard's. "How much time do you have free?"

"I'm off the rest of the day, but I gotta head home by tomorrow." Bernard freed one of his wings from his side and looped it around Kurrin. The gesture caught the Linoone off guard, but he made no attempt to remove the wing. "You're not rushing me out are you, Kurrin?"

"Of course not." Kurrin used one of his arms to wrap around Bernard in a similar fashion. The two stayed like this for a long while, occasionally making small talk between them, catching up on little things that happened to each other while they were separated, which ended with long stretches of silence - not that Bernard minded. He knew Kurrin wasn't the most talkative Pokemon, and as much as he loved having conversations, he didn't mind the periods of silence he shared with his friend. The Pelipper looked up after a while and noticed Kurrin drifting to sleep, his eyes struggling to stay open. That nasty tea sure makes him drowsy, Bernard chuckled to himself as he gave the Linoone a little shake to wake him up. Kurrin opened his eyes and moved away from their position. "Sorry, I'm a bit tired."

"It's okay, want me to leave?" The Pelipper shivered just now noticing how cold the room felt after leaving Kurrin's side, which held such warmth, he regretted waking Kurrin up. Surprisingly, Kurrin shook his head slowly as he headed to his bed.

"No," Kurrin spoke softly and patted a spot on the bed for his friend. "I just need to move somewhere a little more comfortable for my back." Bernard playfully rolled his eyes and waddled over to him, hopping onto the bed and nestled himself on top. Kurrin curled up beside him, the warmness returning from their rejoining of fur and feathers. "Bernard,"

"Yeah, Kurrin?" The bird shut his eyes. It felt that Kurrin's drowsiness was quickly taking an effect on him.

"Thank you for coming today."

"It was a pleasure."

The two older Pokemon fell into a deep silence after that; both falling asleep nuzzled up against one another.

A thick, withered tree that refused to die completely was filled to the brim with Murkrow, all pecking and crowing at one another over food and trash they viewed were valuable. It was located a bit off of the wild trees grown in Petalburg and stayed hidden thanks to the taller, stronger trees that surrounded it. This was the hideout for the annoying birds and their nefarious leader.

Ferrow, a Murkrow that was slightly smaller than the rest of their flock, was making their way back towards the tree, a pretty looking spoon held in their beak. They had just returned from their own scouting, unfortunately unable to come across anything too good but the shiny spoon. They managed to swipe it from some fools having a picnic outside, but one of the Pokemon there were too much for them to handle alone, so they were only able to fly off with this. Ferrow landed on a high end branch and was instantly met with the other members of their flock.

"What's that, Ferrow?! Lemme see it!" The birds harassed and snapped their beaks in Ferrow's direction so they could steal the spoon from them, but Ferrow kept their beak shut tight to keep a hold on the prize as they rammed through the snoopy crowd of Murkrow, making their way to the base of the tree where the branches stretched out from. It was much less crowded the lower they got until they got towards a giant hole burrowed into the tree. Ferrow looked around to make sure there weren't any other members around who would try and swoop in and take their treasure.

Not a feather in sight, which allowed Ferrow to drop their spoon and peck against the bark in a knocking-like fashion.

"B-Boss, I brought something for you." Ferrow waited for a response and was soon answered with a gruff voice saying that they could enter. The Murkrow scooped up the spoon quickly and jumped down into the hole, landing inside where they faced an enormous pile of gathered knickknacks with a fat Honchkrow perched on top, hidden in the darkness. The only light was the sunlight pouring in from the entrance, which barely lit the rest of the tree den. Ferrow slowly made their way towards their boss and dropped the spoon at the base of the pile, head kept down in a bow of respect. "I couldn't find much, but I got this for you." The Honchkrow looked to the spoon and climbed down slowly from their position, scattering their treasures as they did so until they reached the floor. Ferrow had been trying their hardest to gain their respect back, not only from their comrades, but also from their boss as the Honchkrow blamed Ferrow for what had happened at the fields and was cast out to sleep on the furthest of branches, a sign that your ranking in the flock was the lowest.

So Ferrow took to trying to find special items that would greatly impress their boss. The Honchkrow picked up the spoon with their talons and inspected it. Even in the dim light of the den, the spoon possessed a pretty sheen to it. The boss turned away and carefully placed it in a specific spot in the pile before turning back around. A smile formed on their face, putting Ferrow's nerves at ease.

"I'm pleased Ferrow,"

"T-Thank you boss! I knew you'd like it, it's super pretty and-" Ferrow was cut off shortly when their smile shrunk away.

"But it's going to take a lot more than a spoon to earn your place here again."

"B-But, I've been trying, boss, I swear. It's a lot harder on my own." The fat Honchkrow wrapped a wing around the smaller bird, pulling them close.

"I know, but you lost your right to the flock with that whole fiasco." Ferrow dropped their head in shame as the boss continued on. "It takes a lot to gain that right back; a mere spoon is not going to cut it." Ferrow deflated even more. What were they going to do without the help of their flock? They were too weak on their own to do anything. They'd die on their own..

The boss bird sensed this dread emitting off of Ferrow and lifted their head towards them.

"But there is a way you could redeem yourself."

"R-Really, how?!" Ferrow's feathers ruffled in excitement. They'd do anything if it meant being part of the flock again!

"You see my collection?" The two looked to the giant pile of goods collected over time. It was pretty impressive. "It's glorious isn't it?" Ferrow nodded slowly as their eyes stayed glued to the trinkets. "But there is something that would make it even _more_ luxurious."

"What? I'll get it! Whatever it is, I'll get it!" Ferrow was on the verge of bouncing on their little feet.

"An orange gill would make an excellent addition to my collection." Ferrow's enthusiasm dropped instantly when noticing where their boss was getting at. An orange gill, the only one they could think of that was anywhere close to their hideout was of a Mudkip's. A very _specific_ Mudkip, in fact. "Bring me that and you will not only be accepted back into the flock's higher ranks, but you can personally take a single item from my pile as a reward." Ferrow's eyes almost reflected the glimmering sheen of the spoon they brought. If they did this, they'd be regarded on a pedestal second to their boss! It was risky, especially on their own, but Ferrow needed this.

"You got it, boss." Ferrow straightened their stature, firm with determination.

The Honchkrow grinned and turned, returning to their royal spot on top of the pile as Ferrow rushed out the hole. It was going to take a lot to get a gill from that annoying brat, so they had to prepare.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen: Stop Being Negative!**

It was early in the evening when Gin woke up. He had passed out in the small space he was curled up in after all his crying. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling that they were kinda itchy, then climbed down the tree. The sky was a beautiful blended shade of cool and warm colors, gravitating more towards the night as the evening was slowly settling. Gin knew for a fact that Kurrin was at home, probably waiting for him with some lecture or to curse him out for behaving the way he did. I'm not in the mood, Gin thought bitterly to himself and headed to the pond, peering down at his reflection. His face clearly showed signs that he had been crying. _Hard_. Maybe heading to Sapphire's wouldn't be such a bad idea, he thought to himself. He needed to talk to her, so he started his walk towards the shop, but by some odd miracle in the universe, he spotted her staring directly at him before getting too far from the pond.

"Gin!" Sapphire ran over and jumped into her friend's arms. He hastily caught her, not expecting her to run at him like that. "Where were you?! I went to your place and Kurrin said you got into a fight and you ran off and I couldn't find you.." Gin could see she was doing her best to hold back tears, so he gently patted her back as he hugged her. He didn't mean to make Sapphire worry about him, but he wasn't gone long, but Sapphire was more emotional when it came to him, he supposed.

"I'm sorry, I needed some time to myself." Gin apologized which pacified the Mudkip, allowing him to let go of her. She sniffled and slowly regained her composure as best as she could. "You said you went to my place? How was Kurrin?"

"He was upset, Gin." Sapphire snapped at her friend, causing him to flinch from the harsh tone she took with him. However, she reeled back as she occasionally had disputes with her own family and a few times had taken off to hide away somewhere. They were kids after all. "You need to go home and talk to Kurrin, he's bummed out you two got into a fight." Gin rubbed at his arm. She was right. If Kurrin was just as upset as he was, then he had to quickly return home to make things better. He didn't want his teacher upset like that over him.

"I will."

"What were you even fighting about in the first place?" She huffed angrily. Gin went over the entirely brief argument they had which Gin was starting to realize how stupid it was that he acted the way he did. If he was going to leave, then he had to start acting more grown and that entitled not running away like a baby. Sapphire fully calmed down after hearing everything and nudged Gin softly at his side. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"It wasn't your fault. If anything, I'm glad we're going to do the Rescuer thing together. I was really looking forward to it.." Gin sighed, knowing that Kurrin most likely wouldn't change his mind, so it was either going to be follow his orders or run off and head to the event, but Kurrin was fast, so he probably wouldn't make it too far before the Linoone caught him. Sapphire did a sigh of her own in return.

"Well who knows, Kurrin might change his mind if you talk to him about it. My mom did and she's _waaay_ worse compared to Kurrin." Sapphire giggled seeing a smile make its way onto Gin's face from her comment. "Now let's head back to your place."

"You're coming along?"

"Of course, it's rare I get to see the super strong, brick-wall-of-a-Pokemon Kurrin get emotional, it'd make a great story to tell Willow during my visit." Sapphire smirked. The old Farfetch'd was sure to enjoy the sweet story. Gin couldn't help but blush as they started making their way in the direction of his home.

All the while, Gin felt his nervousness creep in and cause his thoughts to turn negative. He didn't want to get his hopes up for he knew Kurrin better than Sapphire did. The strict Pokemon was absolute with his word, and after an argument like this, Gin was sure there was no way he'd change his mind. Running away wasn't on the table since he'd easily get caught and groveling wouldn't change his decision either, so what was he suppose to do? Stay in Littleroot with him forever while his only and dear friend went on to fulfill her dream? His hands tightened into fists as they made it closer to the tree. Sapphire looked over to him, noticing his tight appearance.

"Hey," She interrupted Gin's thoughts and caused him to look over to her. She gave him a sweet, reassuring smile which caused him to blush. "Calm down, it'll be okay."

"What if he still says no?" Gin frowned as he talked in a hushed tone.

"Then you keep at it, if he sees you're serious about it, then he'll change his mind."

"But Sapphire-"

"Gin," The Mudkip stopped him. "Do you really want to do this? To be a Rescuer, or are you just doing this for me?" Gin froze in his spot from the sudden serious question. Why was he pushing for this? This was never his dream, this was hers. But the thought of being with her made him happy, even when it meant leaving Littleroot. As long as he was with Sapphire, he wouldn't mind doing whatever it entailed. But was joining Team Rescue something he wouldn't later regret? Sapphire picked up on his thoughts by some miracle and sighed softly. "Gin, just because I am doing this, doesn't mean you have to tag along. I want you to do what you want in life."

"I just want us to stay together.." Gin spoke even softer, but Sapphire could clearly pick up what he was saying. This time, she blushed and pressed herself up against Gin in a caring manner. He rested a hand on her head, looking down to see the faint, dot-shaped markings in her head. Sapphire was someone he couldn't ever see losing.. "You're my best friend, Sapphire."

"And you're mines, Gin." She slowly pulled away, revealing she was still blushing, but even harder now. "But I'd hate myself if you joined Team Rescue just because of me. You need to do what you want to do."

"I don't know what I want, I just want to be strong."

"You'll figure something out, but for now, just focus on talking to Kurrin and clearing up all this drama between you two." Gin smiled softly, but he still felt a little gloom inside. What was he suppose to do with his life? He never put much thought into it, but he knew he didn't want to stay in Littleroot for the rest of his life and that he wanted to be where Sapphire was. But, as his friend said, he'd focus on now to fix things with his teacher.

They finally made it to the tree only to find the Linoone resting at the table, positioned to where he could have the entrance in his direct view. Gin felt at ease seeing him passed out and walked in to grab the cup that once held his herbal tea. The whole place smelled of the brew which was pretty relaxing - he could see how the older Pokemon was able to fall asleep with such an aroma lingering in the air. Sapphire walked inside as well, going to Kurrin's side, giggling at the large form moving slightly from his breathing.

"He's so cute." Sapphire cooed and gently rubbed his fur, so not to disturb him from his sleep. He was really soft, despite his somewhat gruff nature. Gin gestured for her to be a little quieter and placed the cup away, then to place the rest of his brew neatly someplace else, figuring the older Pokemon would want to drink some more once he woke up. Suddenly, the Treecko noticed why the familiar tea was out. Kurrin must have been physically hurting! His eyes shot over to his teacher quickly. How long was he in pain for, Gin wondered and guilt started to replace the feelings he had before. He was suppose to be here for him as he knew whenever Kurrin drank this stuff was when he was in serious pain. The Treecko had only experienced this a handful of times, but it was scary. One time the older Pokemon wasn't able to move much for a solid week before he was able to go back to his normal self.

"He was hurt.."

"What?" Sapphire walked over to him and cringed a bit from being closer to the unique-smelling herbal tea.

"He was hurt," Gin spoke up a bit louder for her to hear but also not disturb Kurrin. "He only drinks this stuff when his body aches really badly and I wasn't here." Sapphire frowned when looking back at the Linoone at the table. Kurrin was old, but she didn't take it that he was my-back-gave-out-get-my-cane old. It was..weird to envision Kurrin being hurt like that.

"Hey now, he's not some fragile old man," Sapphire acted quickly to calm the panic starting to grow in Gin's voice. "My grandma gets like this too. When you're old, your body just kinda tends to take more damage from things. At least that's how she puts it. And I guess the same goes for Kurrin. He's strong, but-"

"He just takes more damage now that he's old.." Gin finished, his gripping hold on the container that held the tea loosened a bit. The training they had been doing must be the damage, he thought to himself. Gin then placed the container neatly on the table.

"He's okay,Gin." Sapphire calmed Gin. He was being more of a burden to Kurrin than he thought, but he didn't dare say that thought aloud. Maybe that is why Kurrin hadn't wanted him to leave and join Sapphire, he was getting older and didn't want to be alone. The anger he held before for the Linoone seemed really unnecessary when Gin thought about.

For now, the two smaller Pokemon helped clean up the place as quietly as they could before waking Kurrin from his sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen: Ivan To The Rescue**

"I'm sorry," Gin started, rubbing his arm as he looked at Kurrin who was now lying on his bed. He had went into his apology the second his teacher got up from his sleep, but was interrupted when he asked for his tea. Apparently his back had went back to flaring up painfully, but was tended to with an entire cup of his beverage. Once settled on his bed, however, he allowed Gin to finish what he was saying. "I didn't mean to get like that earlier."

"It was my fault, Gin. I shouldn't have tried to take away this trip from you." Kurrin sighed, letting one of his hands rub at his back. This in turn made Gin feel even worse than before. He was in pain because of him, Gin hissed internally to himself. "If this means a lot to you, then I cannot in good will hold you back.." The Linoone's face was held in a saddened expression, his eyes now sunken to the floor for he couldn't look the small Pokemon in the eyes. "I worry about you. You and Sapphire are still young, inexperienced. Joining something like Team Rescue is a big thing - a v _ery big_ thing." Sapphire, who was seated at the table still, frowned at Kurrin. He was right in a way, they were young and has had little to no experience outside of Littleroot, but Team Rescue was looking for Pokemon like them since they never held tryouts for lower leveled Pokemon before.

"I know you worry, Kurrin, but I've decided this is something I want to attempt." Gin's voice held some punch to it and caught both Kurrin and Sapphire off guard. "Who knows if we'll even pass the tryouts, but I want to at least attempt to try and steer my life somewhere other than just here." The small Treecko went and sat on the edge of the bed with Kurrin, his hands on his lap as his fingers laced in between each other. "I know you want me to stay," Kurrin opened his mouth as if to say something, but chose not to. "But I can't, not forever."

"I understand that," Kurrin replied and placed a hand on Gin's head, the gesture being so soft and tender, that it made the Treecko's body relax finally after being so tense. "I don't want to trap you here, but at the same time, I wanted to enjoy you just a bit longer before you'd be gone forever." Sapphire suppressed the urge to awe at them, placing her little hands over her mouth to prevent from doing so. Gin couldn't help but blush, almost forgetting that Sapphire was even there. He looked up towards Kurrin who wore a bittersweet smile on his face, seeming like he was here but also somewhere else at the same time.

"I won't disappear, Kurrin, no matter where I am," Gin left his spot and wrapped his tiny arms around the Linoone's neck, nowhere near having his hands meet together. His face buried slightly in the warm fur he had come to love so much. "I'll always stop by to see you."

"Thank you, Gin." He returned the hug as best as he could, using one of his free arms to pull the smaller Pokemon closer. The two shared in a blissful, loving moment until it was interrupted by Sapphire's sniffling. "Sapphire?" Kurrin looked over first, soon followed by Gin. "Why are you crying?"

"I-I'm not," The Mudkip sniffled and wiped at her watery eyes, clearly overwhelmed by the moment unfolding in front of her. "It's just so flipping sweet!" She balled her eyes out, causing the two Pokemon across from here to chuckle.

It was getting further into the evening with the sky now a more darker shade than earlier when Kurrin saw Sapphire to the door. Gin quickly rushed over before the door was even opened, stopping in between the two.

"I can walk Sapphire home!" Gin spoke up a bit too loudly. The old Linoone smiled and scooted them from the doorway so he could open the door without hitting them. "I mean, if you don't mind." He directed the sort of question to both his teacher and friend. The two looked to each other before answering after one another.

"Sure, just hurry home, we're getting up early tomorrow for training." Kurrin answered.

"I don't need an escort home, but since you're oh so the charmer, I guess I'll accept it." Sapphire teased as she made her way out first. "Good night, Kurrin!"

"Have a pleasant evening, Sapphire, and tell your mother and Marine I said hi."

"Will do." Sapphire started walking off while Gin said a few more words to Kurrin she didn't make out. For now, she was just happy that the two made up and there was no more drama.

Soon Gin made it up to her, slowing down once at her side.

"Happy?" Sapphire asked.

"Huh?"

"Are you happy?" Gin couldn't help but smile as they walked along.

"Pretty happy."

"Good because I hate seeing Kurrin or you down in the dumps." She nudged him softly. Gin really couldn't see not having Sapphire in his life. He playfully nudged her back. "So,"

"So." The Treecko chuckled at her.

"Are you excited, we only got a few more days before we take off!" Gin hadn't even noticed. How time flies, he thought to himself. Soon they'd be heading out of Littleroot, the only place he's ever truly known. He began to wonder what Rustboro was even like, what kinds of Pokemon lived there, or whether or not the place had a leader of its own like Petalburg did. Gin then started thinking about Silver. His hands tightened up, feeling overwhelmed a bit. Silver was the great leader of Petalburg and was sure to be a sight to see once they made it to Rustboro. He had to remind himself to bring along his posters for him to sign.

"Yeah, a little I guess."

"Only a little?" Sapphire sung playfully. "We'll be able to meet all kinds of Pokemon."

"Like Silver." Gin added, not even thinking when he spoke.

"You're excited to meet him?" Sapphire asked, causing the Treecko to blush.

"W-Well he is a leader, of course I'd be excited to meet him." Sapphire giggled at him.

"I guess I can't blame you, meeting someone like that would definitely be mind-blowing." Her huge tail fin swayed happily.

As the two continued their walk, going back and forth about their upcoming trip to Rustboro, they had failed to notice the Pokemon that now suddenly came swooping down on them. Sharp talons dug straight into Sapphire's head fin, getting a surprised and painful scream from her as she was lifted off the ground. Of course she squirmed and struggled in the hold and looked up through a thin layer of new tears to see her captor. A stupid Murkrow had her!

"Sapphire!" Gin had prepared to fire at the bird with a Bullet Seed attack, but was slammed in the side by an unknown force and sent skidding across the grass.

"G-Gin!" Sapphire screeched and tried to get a clear shot at the Murkrow, but the angle only sent her attempts into the air around them, completely missing the bird. They were getting further and further from Gin which caused her to panic even more. She screamed again, but it was becoming fainter the longer their distance became.

Gin slowly got to his feet, aching from the attack. He looked forward to see the Pokemon in front of him, a nasty grin on his face as he looked back at him tauntingly.

"Best stay down, greenie." The Poochyena warned. Gin didn't bother with a response as he fired the prepared Bullet Seed at the wolf-like Pokemon. He dodged it just in time and started to race towards Gin, getting ready to deliver another hard Tackle. Gin stood his ground and simply turned the second the Poochyena came close enough, trying to smack them hard across the face with his thick tail. However, his attack was stopped when sharp fangs made contact with his tail, instantly sending a burning sensation into him. His whole body felt as if he was on fire as he hollered, thrashing about to try and tear his tail away from the Poochyena, but it only made him bite down harder. Gin finally managed to buck the wolf Pokemon off, sending them a good distance before he landed on his feet. The Poochyena spat out the small amount of blood that rushed into his mouth upon biting.

Gin's tail still stung badly and felt the burning feeling still stick with him. It burned so badly that he could barely keep his stance and dropped to one knee. Gin looked to the sky in every direction, trying to find Sapphire, but she was nowhere to be seen. He turned his attention back to the Pokemon in front of him. He couldn't stand around and wait, he thought, he had to go and find where Sapphire was taken, but there was no way this jerk was going to let him through. Gin took a breath to try and ease through the pain he was going through right now as he slowly struggled to get back onto his feet.

"We doing this?" The Poochyena grinned and readied to attack again, however, his fangs were now engulfed in a soft blanket of fire. Small embers flickered off his fangs which made Gin a little nervous as he came to realize that they had a Fire-type move. The Pokemon before him had type advantage over him, but he had to go after Sapphire. Just hang in there, he mentally sent his friend a message as he readied in a stance to attack. The Poochyena took this as his acceptance to battle and broke out into a dash, fangs ablaze furiously for another bite.

"Gin!" Gin was whipped away from his train of thought when he heard the Mightyena, Ivan, call out to him. Luckily the older Pokemon was fast as he made it over just in time to shield the small Treecko from the attack. Ivan had caught the Poochyena off guard, allowing him to chomp down on the dark Pokemon's neck, picking him up like he would a baby.

"H-Hey! Let go, you old fuck!" The Poochyena thrashed in the older Mightyena's hold, but had given up due to Ivan's hold not loosening. Ivan looked down to Gin then tossed the little Poochyena a good distance away.

"Get out of here, _now_." His voice was deeper than normal, glaring hard at the other small Pokemon. The Poochyena winced under the glare and scoffed before running off, heading towards the direction outside of Littleroot. Ivan then turned his attention to Gin. "Are you okay? What was that about?"

"Someone took Sapphire, Ivan!" Gin quickly responded with dire urgency in his tone. He leaned against the Mightyena for support, unable to really stand much on his own. The burning sensation still present.

"W-What? Who took her?"

"I don't know, some bird did.." Ivan looked around then back towards Gin. He then knelt down for Gin to climb onto his back. "Hop on."

Gin did so and climbed on top, flinching from a wave of pain that suddenly hit him.

"S-Sapphire.."

"I'm taking you to Aqua's first. She can heal you while I fetch your friend." He warned for the Treecko to hold on tight as he made a run for the berry shop. Dread growing in the Mightyena's chest when thinking about the situation. Gin felt the same dread, but a thousand times harder since he was the one that let that bird take his friend away.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty: Run Girl, Run**

"What?! What do you mean?!" Aqua screamed loudly when receiving the news from Ivan. Gin was not too far off from the two adults, being tended to and comforted by Marine. The two females were awoken hastily to Ivan's loud shouting from outside and put into a even greater frenzy when hearing what had happened on their way back here. Gin's heart felt heavy and his nerves were on edge due to not knowing whether Sapphire was okay or not. Her scream still fresh in his mind and echoed all throughout his head, so loudly that he had to cup the sides of his head with his hands. Perhaps the gesture would keep his skull from shattering from the sound. However, he was quickly pulled away from the drowning cries in his mind when Aqua turned her attention to the little Treecko. "Which direction did you see he get taken, Gin?"

Gin couldn't help but freeze up from how aggressive the Marshtomp seemed and shrunk in his spot beside Marine. The older Mudkip gave her daughter a look as she comfortingly patted Gin on his back. Aqua took a tense breather, exhaling sharply.

"I need to go with Ivan to get Sapphire back, but I need to know which direction that _rat_ took her." She tried her hardest to give the younger Pokemon a kind smile, but Gin could still see the anger and worry that hid just behind it. He tried his hardest to collect his nerves and spoke up in a somewhat shaky tone.

"I-It looked like they headed west from here..maybe a little towards north." Gin tried remembering clearly where his position was in that moment. "Definitely northwest." He added a bit more confident. Aqua gave him a thankful nod then turned to Marine, telling her mother that she'd be back soon and that she should send for Kurrin before heading to the exit with Ivan in tow. However, Gin rose from his spot and took a few steps towards Aqua. "I wanna come!"

"No Gin, you're a child." Ivan barked, a familiar, strict hint in his voice as he turned his head to look at Gin. "You need to stay here." Aqua was already outside, not even bothering with the two of them.

"I am not a little baby, I want to help!" Ivan snarled, baring dangerously sharp fangs which made Gin shrink back a bit. The Mightyena didn't bother any further when Gin stayed in his spot before rushing out to follow Aqua.

Meanwhile, Ferrow was growing quite exhausted from the flight, finding it harder and harder to keep a hold of the still struggling Mudkip in their grasp. But it would be worth it, they thought to themselves. Sapphire ridiculed and cursed at the Murkrow, but they didn't seem to be really bothered by it. Just down below, Ferrow cold make out the rustling of bushes and headed for the nearest clearing they could see.

"Ugh!" Sapphire groaned from being dropped at such a height and looked up aggressively at Ferrow who perched onto a lower hanging branch, a cocky expression on their face. "You stupid, filthy vermin!" She shouted angrily and prepared a Water Gun attack, but was interrupted when something came up behind her and buried sharp fangs into her soft skin. The bite was hard, but not enough to cause any serious damage as the mysterious force kept her pinned down to the ground. She wildly thrashed about, trying to break free, but the Poochyena on top of her was proving to be impossible to buck off. Ferrow then fluttered down to the forest floor, strutting up to Sapphire.

"I'd take it easy with all the name calling if I were you, you're in no position to act so rude." The Murkrow waved a wing causing the Pokemon on top of her to sink their fangs deeper in, causing her to stifle a pain-filled groan. Her body tensed up even more when feeling a slight zap pass through her from the bite. "Anymore of that and my friend here will just have to electrocute you." Sapphire's eyes widened and fell completely still, terrified of the possibility of being hit with a thousand volt charge. "Now I don't need to take up much of your time, I just need something from you. After that, you can return to your little meager life." Ferrow came closer, pressing their talons on her head as their sharp beak came close to the side of her face, opening just enough to take the side of her frill into their mouth.

"S-Stop pl-" Sapphire tried to cry out but felt the bite become harder and cut her off her plead. Tears started to well up in her eyes, already knowing what the bird was planning on doing.

Thankfully she was saved by the sound of rustling not too far off, which caused Ferrow to pull away, leaving her orange frill unharmed. They turned their attention to where the sound came from, only to groan angrily when two more Poochyena made an appearance.

"What do you two want?" Ferrow squawked angrily. One of the Poochyena seemed a bit upset, their tail tucked between their legs.

"You didn't say there'd be other old geezers to deal with. Fyre nearly got caught by one of those Littleroot assholes!" One of the little wolves snarled, gesturing angrily towards the one with their tail tucked.

"Well I didn't see the guy coming." Ferrow turned their attention back to Sapphire.

"Just make this quick, I wanna get paid." The one named Fyre growled lowly and took their spot with the other Poochyena to watch. Sapphire felt like screaming, but knew if she did, she'd get pumped with a vicious shock of electricity. Her tears had become too big and ran down her face when Ferrow took their position once again, ready to rip off the frill. It was terrifying and everything seemed to slow down in suspense for her. It was either scream and get shocked painfully or sit and have her frill torn from her face. Either was definitely not promising a good time.

Just as she felt Ferrow clamp down harder and begin to pull, she couldn't hold back and screamed.

Ivan nearly jumped out of his body when he heard the loud scream, but Aqua took off even faster than she already was. The Mightyena had raced after her, pushing down his dread as much as he could. The way he was feeling, he couldn't imagine how the Marshtomp was doing. With Ivan having a daughter himself, he couldn't imagine having go through this. Hearing your own child scream in such a way, it was a heart-wrenching feeling that he prayed he'd never have to go through.

Aqua, despite her shorter legs, was miraculously running as fast as he was. But he kept up after her, soon he had managed to catch up so he was right behind her.

"Sapphire?!" Aqua screamed out, hoping that her daughter had heard her, but the two hadn't gotten a reply back. Just a ear-piercing scream, then nothing. If Ivan's dread was causing his chest to sink deeply, he couldn't imagine how badly Aqua was starting to feel. The two Pokemon came to a stop when they reached a rather wide creek before them. Aqua made no hesitations to jump in and begin swimming across. Not until she reached halfway that she remembered Ivan was with her and turned to see the Mightyena still standing on the other side.

"Come on, Ivan!" She screeched. Ivan backed away a few steps, seemingly unable to move ahead.

"You go ahead! I'll find another way around!" Ivan darted off down the creek, hoping to find a more dryer way to get across. The Marshtomp didn't hesitate and began paddling her way across, climbing up the sloping sides of the creek, back onto flat ground. She started running again, determined to find her daughter.

The scream was unlike any other. Amazingly, she used her new, special Echoed Voice attack, causing the Pokemon around her to get pummeled by the sound and sent flying. The Poochyena on top of her was thrown off, allowing her to break free. She quickly got onto her feet and didn't even bother looking back before she started running. The whines from the Poochyena and the angry squawks from Ferrow were becoming faint as she raced as fast as she could to get away from them. Four on one didn't really sound like a fair match, so running was the best option in her eyes.

She kept running, not sure where she was going, but anywhere that didn't have those dark Pokemon was safer to her. Sapphire jumped over fallen logs and too big of rocks as she made her way through the dark forest. Everything was shrouded in darkness; the moon acting as a shred of light that peeked through the small gaps of the treetops above. It was dangerous the further she kept running due to less and less of moonlight reaching in until she was running in complete darkness. And as much as she wanted to stop, to recollect her thoughts, to catch her breath, she couldn't. The sounds of rustling were evidence enough that those Poochyena were on there way after her, but luckily sounded like they were quite a ways away.

If she went any further, however, she'd most likely be stuck in the dark for the whole night and who knows what Pokemon lingered in such depths of darkness. But stopping meant facing _them_. Sapphire then stopped in her tracks, panting heavily as she looked back, not really able to make out much. The darkness seemed to be suffocating, threatening to snuff out any little Pokemon that was foolish enough to wander into such a place.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One: Protective Daddy Mode: On**

Gin couldn't possibly stand around and wait. Sapphire was in trouble and she needed him, so the small Pokemon didn't bother waiting around. Despite Marine's now long gone cries for him to stop before he disappearing into the night. Gin was sure she'd go and fetch Kurrin, but for now, he was going to help find Sapphire.

The dim lighting of the moon was of great help, but not enough as he almost fell below when leaping wildly from branch to branch, almost missing a step or two. He figured traveling by the trees would be much faster as he headed in the direction he was sure he saw Sapphire get taken. Of course his dread and now slowly building fear was still growing ever so in his chest was something that wanted his body to stop and turn around, but he continued on. Everything began to blend in as wildlife seemed all the same the longer he traveled from Littleroot. Gin took a second to stop and look around, not sure how he'd get back, but it was too late to worry about that now. He proceeded again with his branch leaping, occasionally having to risk taking a huge leap in order to get to another tree that was a bit far off from the next. Thank heavens for having this ability, he thought to himself.

As the Treecko reached deeper and deeper into the dense forest, the fear growing inside him reached its highest peak when he heard a terrifying scream. The sound forced him to stop and frantically look around, trying to recall which direction the scream came from. All the while, his heart raced like a Rapidash, hoping that Sapphire was okay. She had to be okay! He decided on heading right, which after a while, had led into the more darker parts of the forest. Light barely came in through the trees which was proving to be a problem when he suddenly slammed into bark. The tree Gin had leapt from was a bit shorter or this one was freakishly tall, but whatever the case, it hurt and he went spiraling down into the ground below. White spots danced around his vision as he lied there, barely able to make out anything around himself thanks to the chilling darkness.

"S-Sapphire..?" He tried to call out, but everything felt dizzy and heavy at the same time. Gin carefully sat himself up, but was knocked into by a heavy force, sending him painfully crashing across the ground. This caused the small Pokemon to cry out, worrying the figure that hit him.

"Gin..? What are you doing here?!" Gin recognized the voice to belong to Ivan. What a blessing it was to see the angrily frowning Mightyena.

"I'm sorry, I had to-" Gin tried to apologize, still a bit frazzled up in his head, but was cut short when a new sound finally registered to him. The sound of cackling, loud and multiplied. Ivan turned his focus from Gin and quickly stood to his feet, acting as a wall to protect the Treecko behind him. Soon, out of the patches of darkness before them that held none of the moon's spotted light, came multiple Murkrow, all cackling and taunting. Gin got to his feet as fast as he could, determined to help Ivan out, but the older Pokemon wasn't having it as he took a second to glance back at him.

"Don't. You stay behind me." He snarled then turned his attention back towards the birds coming at them. He readied himself and ushered out an attack that made Gin awe. A beam of interlaced, dark and purple circles erupted from Ivan making contact with a good amount of the flock, causing a lot of them to drop from the air, flinching painfully on the ground. This was an attack Gin recalled during one of his more book-learning lessons as a Dark Pulse. Ivan continued his attack, trying to hit as many as possible, but whenever five went down, ten more took their place, drawing closer until one managed to dodge the vicious attack to zoom towards Ivan and drill their sharp beak into his head. The action had split the Mightyena's head and caused a good amount of blood to seep out.

"Ivan!" Gin called out and quickly smacked the bird away with a tail attack. The Mightyena dropped to the ground, panting heavily. One of his eyes forced to close due to the dark, warm blood now leaking down from his wound.

"Stay back, Gin." He ordered harshly and slowly got back to his feet.

"No, you need help." Gin fought back and turned his attention to the Murkrow now surrounding them. The laughing they were doing were scaring him a bit, but he had to help. He had no idea how long the older Pokemon was fighting, but he looked tired and Gin had a feeling his HP wasn't at its best at the moment. Gin then launched a Bullet Seed attack, trying to hit the flying targets, but they simply scattered, allowing him to only hit a few who were thrown off from the suddenness. And even still, they didn't fall like Ivan's attack did to them.

"I needed you to stay home." He growled at the little Pokemon standing with him. He used another Dark Pulse attack, but it was abruptly stopped when he couldn't continue it. He staggered and dropped to his feet, the wound on his head still leaking blood. Gin tried to turn his attention to Ivan, but was cut off when the group of the Murkrow summoned a volley of Shadow Balls. "G-Gin..you need to get out of here!" He barked, but the sound was distant and faded to him when Gin stared at the intimidating orbs of darkness before him.

Ivan saw Gin stand there motionless, despite his orders for him to leave, to move, dodge, something! His eyes went from the Murkrow to Gin and just as they released their hold on the orbs, he pushed himself to his feet and quickly rushed over to shield Gin completely with his body.

Marine was old, too old to be trying to run, but now was no time to complain. The little old Pokemon had scurried as fast as she could to Kurrin's and by the time she reached there, she was a tired mess of aching bones and joints. She took a second to try and calm her heavy breathing, but it was useless and proceeded to bang on the door with her little hands.

"K-Kurrin! Please help..!" She cried.

Inside, the old Linoone had gone to sleep shortly after Gin and Sapphire's departure and stayed asleep until he was woken by the banging. He lifted his head from where he was curled up on his bed and quickly made his way over to the door, cursing to himself when his back cracked with pain from the sudden motion. He slowed his pace down just a bit, still moving quickly enough when he answered the door. The old Mudkip fell forward as she was pressing all her weight against the it when banging.

"Marine, what are you doing here? What's wrong?" He helped her up back onto her feet and flinched when he saw tears in her eyes. He had known the Mudkip for quite some time and rarely ever saw her cry. If she did, it must be because of something really serious. "Marine, what happened?" He asked calmly. Marine panted and shivered from her body aching and her heart racing a mile a minute.

"Sapphire..Sapphire got taken and my Aqua and Ivan went off to get her..but Gin went too, he took off so fast I couldn't.." She sobbed miserably, worried to death for all of them. She looked up to Kurrin who was utterly shocked, deep blue eyes as wide as ever. "They need your help!"

Kurrin shook his shock away and offered a ride on his back for Marine. She took his offer and climbed on as he ran, making it to the berry shop way faster than Marine could ever hope to and noticed the small group of familiar faces swarming around the shop's entrance. He let Marine climb off and the two made their way over.

The first to notice them was a tear-faced Poochyena who dashed over, hiccuping and crying like an infant. She stopped just at Kurrin's feet, looking up to him with large tears in her eyes. Ivan's daughter, he realized.

"Where's my daddy?!" She cried. Soon the other residents joined the little one, all eyes going from Marine to Kurrin. The Linoone turned his attention to Marine.

The old Mudkip went over the list of events, leaving everyone to go from worried to terrified, some like Willow and Ivan's daughter turning to tears. Ms. Potter fluttered over to Kurrin a little too closely.

"Are you going to get them?!"

"Of course," He nodded to the frantic Beautifly.

"Please do, Kurrin.." Willow added in such a sad tone that it made Kurrin's heart nearly break in two.

"I will," He answered. He then looked to the teary mess of a child, clearly distraught about her father. He lowered himself as best as he could to her level, causing her to turn her attention to him again. "I'll bring them _all_ back." This managed a little smile from the girl, but it disappeared again once she returned to crying. The Linoone looked to Marine, demanding where they ran off to. She told them they were heading northwest and with that, he took off with blinding speed.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Special Attack**

Gin had no idea why he froze, why his body refused to move even when his brain was screaming at him to do so. He remembered hearing Ivan's voice, ordering him to leave, but he couldn't, for some odd reason, he just stood there. Then there was pitch black darkness and the sensation of fur pressed against his face. Ivan had leapt in front of him just as the attack was released and sent forward. After that, his heavy body slumped over Gin, almost crushing him underneath. The Treecko was broken from his trance and panicked.

"Ivan.." His voice shakier than ever as he felt the Mightyena go limp. The older Pokemon's HP was now reaching critical level as proven by the near faint way he breathed, fell, and spoke.

"I said..r-run.." He growled, but the venom that usually was held in his tone was now gone. The Murkrow around them were dishing out mocking taunts and curses as they laughed at the two. Just barely in Gin's peripheral vision, he spotted another group of Murkrow readying another volley. The shadowy orbs formed slowly, almost as if to drag out their demise. Gin turned back to Ivan who was now lying on the ground, trying his hardest to rise but failing each attempt. He was in no condition to fight anymore. Ivan looked to see the Shadow Balls forming again and bared his sharp teeth at Gin, a dark, piercing look in his eyes. "Now Gin..!" He pushed himself up, wincing in pain before turning his attention back to the flock.

Gin wasn't sure what to say, so he didn't bother with retorting back, standing beside Ivan instead, ready for a battle. He wasn't weak, he told himself. He didn't need protecting all the time, he hissed internally while glaring at the birds. The Treecko hadn't really noticed the bluish glow emitting from his mouth during his glare-off with the flock. The Murkrow became a bit wary of the light growing from the small Pokemon's mouth while Ivan readied with a Dark Pulse. Despite this, the birds launched their attack, sending the multiple Shadow Balls in their direction. Ivan proceeded with his own, firing a ray of the dark aura, but it was much weaker, only stopping a few orbs. However, Gin opened his mouth and a brilliant beam of bluish light erupted from him, engulfing the shadowy darkness in his special attack's light. The fiery beam blasted through the rest of the volley and instantly hit the unexpected Murkrow behind it, causing a huge section of the surrounding flock to get blasted away.

Ivan was just as shocked by the attack. Standing beside the smaller Pokemon, he could feel the heat emanating from the light. They didn't have time for this, however, as he turned to face the rest of the birds around them, using the rest of his power he had to unleash a powerful Dark Pulse.

By the time the two stopped their attack, most of the flock was taken out, some fallen to the ground, knocked out by the assault, some too far blasted away that they couldn't even seem them, and some who managed to dodge and took off with only a few scorched feathers.

Gin dropped to his knees, smoke rising rapidly from the corners of his mouth as he took huge gulps of air. His mouth felt as if it were on fire and sparked with a thousand volts at the same time while his insides received the same feeling. Little tears caught the edges of his eyes as he turned his head slightly to look at Ivan. His bewilderment was gone and now replaced with a look of sternness once again. He walked past Gin, well, more of limping past him, towards the darker parts of the dense forest.

"I-Ivan, wait-"

"Go home, Gin." He struggled to keep his voice strict. Gin got to his feet the fastest he could and started to follow after the Mightyena.

"I'm not going home." Gin's voice stung from the words due to his throat still stinging from his special attack. "You're hurt and I can't leave you alone to fight." Ivan tried to bark something but it was replaced with a pain-filled grunt as he dropped again. Gin rushed to his side to help keep him somewhat steady on his feet. The blood on his head was still dripping down, a sign he was losing too much blood. That, combined with his low HP, Ivan was in no condition to fend off how ever many more Murkrow lied ahead. "You can't possibly keep going. At least not alone." Just then, something in his brain lit to life. Aqua was suppose to be with him. Where was she?! Gin looked up to Ivan and asked with as little panic as he could muster. "W-Where's miss Aqua? She was suppose to be with you." Ivan growled lowly and looked ahead.

"We had to split at the creek," He responded. Gin recalled the stretch of water during his tree-hopping. "She went ahead, but I caught up with her eventually."

"Then where is she?"

Gin looked to where Ivan was looking at bitterly.

"We got split up due to those damn birds.. She went up ahead, but.." He could no longer stay on his feet and dropped his weight down to the ground, shockingly causing Gin, who still helped prop up his side, to come crashing down as well. The Treecko's face turned into a deeper frown. Ivan really needed medical attention. "She screamed.. I tried to get there, but.."

"It's okay, I'll go ahead and-"

"Like hell you are." He snarled and, with some miracle burst of energy, grabbed Gin by the back of his neck and tossed him a good distance away. The toss hurt, but he was back on his feet in no time. "Go home, I'm not letting you get hurt because you wanna play hero."

"I'm not playing anything! You can barely stand! You need the help!" Gin snapped. Ivan tried to get to his feet, but the blood lost was making him a bit woozy and caused him to drop back down. "Please Ivan," Gin lowered his voice as he walked up to the Mightyena again. "I need to go and get miss Aqua so we can take you home. You're hurt and you need help." Ivan turned away, determining whether or not to snarl at Gin or agree that he was in no condition to keep fighting, so he kept quiet. "Let me go ahead, okay?"

"That old bastard is going to kill me if something happens to you." Ivan finally spoke up, but it wasn't in his usual aggressive tone. Rather, he sounded drained, defeated.. "You stay with Aqua when you see her understand? Run, do not try and play hero." Gin nodded and started his trek ahead, but stopped a few feet in his run, looking back to Ivan.

"Are you gonna be okay until then?" Ivan scoffed then sent a toothy grin Gin's way.

"I've had worse..now hurry it up." Gin smiled at the Mightyena and continued on ahead.

Sapphire's body hurt. _Badly_.

She had no idea where she was, but it was away from those stupid birds, which to her, was the best place ever. The small Mudkip was curled up in the earth below a tree. Once she had made it deeper into the dark forest, she was ambushed by those Poochyena, but luckily, thanks solely to her speed, she managed to avoid most of their attacks. After that, she took off running again. Apparently someone had called for backup and Sapphire found herself trying to outrun a mini flock of Murkrow. The few that managed to catch up to her had pecked and nipped at her body, snipping her head and tail fin, along her back, and even at her back legs as an attempt to trip her up. It was utterly terrifying.

She kept going, all the while, dishing out attacks of her own. Water Guns and Mud-Slaps were tossed their way, which only enraged the birds more and made their intent even more vicious. One had grazed her back with their talons in an attempt to scoop her up, luckily having such a broad tail fin worked out in her favor as she smacked the Murkrow away. Though, she was bestowed a _lovely_ gift of fresh scratches along her back. Finally, she used a Echoed Voice to lose them.

Luck graced her once again when she fell into the very hole she kept herself in now. The squawking noise from above alerted her that they were going to head back to their base. She was safe, at least for now. She curled up in her little hole, worried, scared, tired. She wondered if Gin was okay, if maybe her mother and grandmother gotten everyone in Littleroot to look for her, if maybe anyone would find before _they_ did.

"Please come soon." She whispered to herself, deciding on resting a bit due to her exhaustion overpowering her.

Gin moved with fierce determination, not bothering with the few Murkrow he saw flying past him. A few feathers falling from above as some had brushed past him when running. They weren't giving him any piece of mind, more concerned about getting away. That was good news, right?

The small Treecko was running for quite some time in near total darkness before coming to a screeching halt when he heard someone's voice coming from ahead. That had to be Aqua! Gin couldn't help but smile as he raced towards where he heard the faint voice, now hearing it clearer the closer her got. His heart raced wildly the second he recognized her voice, it was a lot more aggressive than normally, but her voice nonetheless.

"Where's my daughter?" The question was more of a demand as she held the terrified Murkrow in her grasp. Gin was shocked to see more moonlight was poured into their area due to the gaps in the branches above. He was sure that the Marshtomp was the one to cause these as he watched one of the fallen Murkrow the littered the ground escape through an opening into the sky above.

"Miss Aqua!" Gin rushed over to her quickly and caught her off guard. She turned to him and frowned.

"Gin? What are you doing out here? It's dangerous!" Aqua's motherly mode switched back on, despite still holding the fidgeting Murkrow in her fins. Gin smiled up at her. Why does it feel like I haven't seen her in forever, he asked himself before hugging her.

"I came to help. Ivan is really hurt and-" Gin stopped himself when actually taking a look at Aqua's body. Her light blue form had fresh cuts and bruises scattered all around. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Gin, but you shouldn't be out here.. Where's Ivan?" She looked to where Gin had come from, now recalling that the wolf Pokemon was with her a while back ago. She was too engulfed in finding out what happened to her daughter to notice that she left him behind. "You said he's hurt..?" Gin nodded sadly.

"He needs help now." Aqua looked to the Murkrow in her grasp and squeezed them threateningly.

"Where?" She hissed at the bird. They squawked painfully and proceeded to comply, stuttering out between pain-filled whines that they had no idea where and that a group that was sent out to chase her had ended up losing her. The Marshtomp wasn't pleased, not in the slightest, but she released the bird anyways, allowing them to take off. Gin watched them fly away, but turned his attention back to Aqua who was starting to tear up. "Where is she..? She must be so scared.."

"Miss Aqua.." Gin tried his best to comfort her, but he was sure nothing would put her at ease until she found Sapphire. "We'll find her, don't worry."

"Gin.." She sniffled and smiled forlornly at him. "We should go get Ivan.." She wiped away her tears, but the heavy feeling of sadness still did not leave her. Gin took her fin into his hand as they turned to leave to where Ivan was.

Just then, Gin's heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he instantly spotted the old Linoone watching them, something draped over his back.

"Kurrin!" Gin screeched.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three: It's Getting Too Krowy**

The further Kurrin ran, the greater the trees' branches blocked out light. This hadn't disturbed him however, as he could still see ahead of himself in the dark. What had him worried was Gin and the others out there. Personally, he'd known Pokemon who had lived in such secluded places like this were not the most friendliest. This thought had caused him to pick up more speed, but on his panic-laced racing, he ended up getting a face full of dirt in his attempt to leap over an obstacle that came into vision. Quite ungracefully, he rolled across the ground, but quickly got back to his feet, turning to see what was in his way.

Ivan, completely startled and confused, looked at him, but it disappeared once he had recognized who was in front of him. A look of disdain, Kurrin identified.

"Ivan, are you okay? Where is Gin and Aqua?" He walked up to him and was put off by the amount of blood on his face. Ivan gave him a growl when he came up too close then scoffed.

"They're up ahead. I would have gone but-"

"No need to explain yourself." Kurrin cut him off and looked off in the direction he was heading to. Gin needed his help, along with Aqua and Sapphire, but judging by the condition of the Mightyena, he was in need of assistance now. Even the tone of his harsh voice was sounding way weaker than it normally was. "Are you able to stand?" Ivan snarled a no after some time of contemplating it. "Then can you rise just a bit?" Ivan was not too keen on the idea, but while cursing lowly under his breath, he managed to shakily rise just enough that his belly was off the ground. Kurrin quickly moved in, squeezing his head underneath and moved so that the Mightyena ended up across his back.

It was odd to say the least to have someone who disliked him so greatly in this kind of position.

"I didn't need your damn help." He snarled. Kurrin didn't bother responding to him as he continued on ahead, not as fast as before, but still with some urgency in his step.

The two, not long after, came to a more brighter lit area where he saw Gin looking as if he were comforting Aqua. Their words were soft, but he could pick them up with his acute hearing. He stood there watching them, letting a wave of relief wash over himself. Gin was okay.

"Kurrin!" Gin was shocked to see the Linoone looking at them with Ivan angrily placed on his back. The little Pokemon rushed over and hugged the Linoone, face buried in his chest fur. He couldn't help a small smile and nuzzled against the Treecko's head. "And you got Ivan." Gin smiled towards the grumbling wolf Pokemon who refused to look at him.

"Are you okay?" Kurrin asked and Gin nodded. He then looked to Aqua who looked worn out herself. He guessed she wasn't in the best condition either, physically _and_ mentally. "Aqua,"

"I'm fine, Kurrin. I just need your help to find Sapphire." She interrupted as she squeezed at a cut on her arm in an effort to stop the small amount of blood from coming out.

"I need you to take Ivan home. He needs medical attention immediately." Kurrin already saw her beginning to form a sentence of protect and cut her off. "I will find Sapphire and bring her home, but Ivan will die out here if he doesn't get his wound attended to." Aqua frowned and shut her lips, now unable to look the old Linoone in the eyes. However, her gaze went back up to Ivan who was too woozy to even keep his head up, his eyes flickering slowly from opened to close. Kurrin was right, she sighed internally.

"Okay.." She fought back the urge to cry. Kurrin looked back down to Gin as Aqua made her way to his side to retrieve Ivan.

"You need to go back as well."

"What?! No!" Gin argued. "I can help, too." The Treecko had a look of seriousness present on his face, but Kurrin wasn't buying it.

"Kurrin," Ivan spoke up, now being carried by Aqua which looked a bit silly due to the Mightyena being much larger than she was. "You will need the extra help." Gin was surprised that Ivan was on his side as he was fully against him being in the way before. "I know he's small and young, but he's with you. And he is pretty helpful, despite being a child." Kurrin narrowed his eyes at Ivan, but his expression softened when looking back to Gin. "He helped me out after all."

"Please Kurrin," Gin looked up to him pleadingly.

Kurrin was about to speak but the distant cries of Murkrow stopped him, forcing him to turn his attention to the sound. It sounded as if they were upset, which wasn't the best sign.

"I can help find Sapphire and I'm not going home until we do."

"You are you stay put, understand, I will handle everything else." Kurrin ordered darkly, eyes still glued to the opened spots in the branches, looking for any signs of movement. Gin gulped but agreed nonetheless. He finally pulled his eyes from the sky towards Aqua and Ivan. "You got him, Aqua?"

"Of course, just please find my Sapphy.." She looked to Kurrin sadly. He nodded and ordered Gin again to keep close to his side as they both disappeared into the darkness towards the sound of angry crowing.

Along the way, Kurrin was as eerily silent, which put off Gin a bit. He was wondering whether or not his teacher was angry with him. Perhaps he was, Gin thought to himself as they traveled on the forest floor. The old Linoone was a strong Pokemon, but flocks of those damned birds was a lot to take on one's own and as strong as Gin believed Kurrin was, the menacing flock was causing him to reconsider just how strong he _really_ was at this age. Ivan ended up seriously hurt from them, Aqua was left with tons of bruises and injuries from them, and he didn't even want to think about how Sapphire was. He chanced a look towards his teacher, seeing the serious expression on his face and chose not to bother asking.

The two had came to a stop when an area bathed in tons of light came into view before them. They stayed hidden in the darkness of the trees to avoid being spotted as they watched the Pokemon before them.

"I guess you really don't want back in the gang, Ferrow." An overweight Honchkrow crowed from their position nestled on a high branch of the withered-looking tree while groups of other Murkrow laughed mockingly from lower branches, down towards the smaller Murkrow on the ground. Just behind them, three Poochyena sat, their heads lowered along with their ears in a defeated manner. "I'm _greatly_ disappointed in you." Ferrow had their head lowered as well, their entire disposition was ruffled and had various feathers sticking out of place.

"I really tried to, boss.." Ferrow whined quietly, which only got drowned out by the eerie sound of cackling all around. Kurrin looked over to Gin who was a bit tense at the sight and whispered strictly to him.

"Do not move in."

"I wasn't." Gin whispered back, just as stern without even looking back at Kurrin.

"I even allowed you to have help on such a simplistic task." The Honchkrow gestured a wing towards the three Poochyena behind them who only lowered their heads even more when mentioned. "I'm afraid, since you were incapable of handling it yourself.." The giant bird took off from their branch to fly down towards Ferrow, landing in front of them. Before the Murkrow could even protest, a giant talon-lined foot came grasping at their throat, squeezing tightly to cause a short cry from them.

Gin figured this was the one who had kidnapped Sapphire going off the evidence of being the odd one out of the flock and the Poochyena with them. He wanted to rush in and attack, demand where she was, but the scene before him was having him begin to feel differently. The Murkrow was being strangled, which their choking gasps only magnified by the chilling silence of the other Murkrow around them.

"You will just have to take the brat's punishment." The Honchkrow threatened to snap Ferrow's throat when suddenly a flash of nearly white fur came forward at lightning speed and struck the fat bird right in their chest. They were knocked back, startling the flock into a mess of cries and incoherent words. Gin was amazed Kurrin moved so quickly, but his astonishment was instantly erased when he saw the old Linoone tighten his face from pain. "W-What the hell..?!"

Kurrin stood in between the smaller Pokemon and the Honchkrow, looking to Ferrow who was sprawled on the ground hacking before looking back to them. The boss bird scowled, but refrained from making a move as they knew who Kurrin was.

"What are _you_ doing here?" He asked, raising a wing to settle the flustered birds around them.

Gin wasn't sure if he should intervene, but he kept his hidden position as he felt Kurrin could handle the boss by himself. Now...unless he ordered for the flock to join in, that would be different. His eyes went from the two Pokemon towards the multiple birds above, all gawking at the sight below. There were a ton, too many for Kurrin to handle if his back was still acting up. Quick, sudden movements were a bit too much for him at the moment.

Ferrow finally got back to their normal breathing and stared at Kurrin from behind, shocked that their were getting helped. The trio of Poochyena took this moment to make a run for it, disappearing into the bushes off the right, calling back that they didn't need to get paid.

"I'm here for the girl you took, return her, now." Kurrin demanded, voice calm and collected at first, but strained a bit at the end when a twinge of pain ran up his spine. It, however, didn't break his stance. The Honchkrow smirked and dusted off their feathers before replying.

"You wouldn't happen to mean that little brat at that berry place, would you? Blue, kinda fishy-looking?" Kurrin glared angrily at the bird as his claws slowly lit to life for another Slash attack.

"I do not want to fight you, but if you refrain from returning her, I will not hold back." Kurrin warned lowly. The Honchkrow flinched, but kept up his cocky tone.

"Sorry, but no one is getting that brat before me. Now piss off before I add a nice Linoone rug to my home." He warned right back at the old Linoone, which supplied Kurrin with his answer as he sped towards the boss bird in an instant.

It caught the bird off guard as they took to the air, the flock crowing loudly at them. Kurrin didn't let up his attack however as he used his still rapidly increasing speed to race up the trunk of their base's tree. Gin had seen him do this a few times due to his own tactic of staying above in order to avoid his teacher's attacks, but it was meaningless when he could do things like that. Kurrin pushed off the tree at a perfect height just as the Honchkrow tried to take off after his stunned moment of watching the old Pokemon. He made contact with the boss bird, sending them hurling towards the ground and soon joined him in their descent.

However, the Honchkrow got their bearings before hitting the ground and spread their broad wings to stop their fall. Kurrin landed on his feet, looking up only to be greeted by a Night Slash. The old Linoone dodged it just in time, but the bird kept up with their assault, slashing about their dark aura-coated wings at Kurrin wildly. He was deftly dodging them with ease until his back twinged again painfully and caused him to misstep and get struck with one of the swings.

Gin nearly called out to him as he was forced back quite hard into the ground. He clamped his hands over his mouth to prevent making any noise as Kurrin slowly then got to his feet. The boss bird smirked seeing that they got a hit in, but took a step backwards. Kurrin was off put by the bird backing away, but Gin knew exactly what the Honchkrow was planning to do.

With a wave of their wing, they smirked and spoke up loudly above the crowing and squawking around them.

"First to take down this old man gets whatever they want from my pile!" And in an instant, the branches became barren as the enormous flock of Murkrow came down upon Kurrin.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four: I Guess I Believe In You**

When she awoke, her body screamed at her to move, feeling as if she was frozen still for centuries and now her muscles ached from the stillness. Sapphire slowly opened her eyes and looked to the gaping opening above her. Still darkness, she sighed and slowly got to her feet. Going as slow as she could, stifling a high-pitched cry as she rose, hearing something crack in her movement. It was hard to tell if it was still night or day as the thick branches up high did an amazing job at blocking out the sky. The Mudkip peeped her head fin out of the hole, using it to try and detect any movement that may had been stirring quietly above.

After a minute or two of waiting however, she climbed out to look herself. Of course the heavy darkness was all she could make out, aside from the few spots where light poured in from. She walked, groaning with every few steps, to the nearest beam of light and looked up only to see the blackish violet of the sky. It was still nightfall. She looked around, trying to get her best sense of where she was. Now that those rats with wings weren't chasing her, perhaps she could find her way out of this place instead of further in.

Sapphire began to make her way towards wherever the gaps above grew greater, taking a chance that that was the best direction to go into.

Gin could no longer sit back and watch, moving in the second the massive flock made its way down towards Kurrin. The Linoone was shocked himself when he watched the dark, cackling mess of feathers and beaks make their way towards him, but his senses came back to him before they got too close. Using his Slash attack, he burrowed into the ground before the flock came crashing down, some slamming into the earth while others flew back upwards before making the same mistake. Gin stopped in his tracks when he saw Kurrin disappear underground and turned his attention to the few birds that noticed him. A small handful of Murkrow made their way over, crowing angrily and tried to attack with sharp talons and beaks, but Gin was too fast, quickly evading them.

The small Treecko was backed into the surrounding wilderness and took to the tree he was backed up against, climbing up quickly to the branches, only to be followed behind closely.

"Come here you little bugger!" A Murkrow crowed and snapped their beak at Gin, clamping their beak shut around his tail, getting the smaller Pokemon to cry out. Gin struggled before kicking the bird in the face, causing them to let go and fall towards the ground. However, the others didn't let up, swarming around Gin as he raced along the branches. He tried to look through all the chaos of the flock for his teacher, but saw no sign of him. He did however notice that some were eagerly trying to shove their heads and bodies into the hole he created, squawking loudly as others swarmed overhead. Gin had to help Kurrin, especially if he was trapped down there.

"Stop running!" A more aggressive flock member crowed, Gin hadn't noticed them before they dug their talons deep into Gin's back, trying to tear him away from the safety of the treetops. The Treecko hollered out from the sharp talons digging into his body, but wrapped his arms and legs around a branch, giving up on running in favor of holding onto it. The other Murkrow soon joined in and began their cruel pecking and pulling, taking shots at his little body. Gin held on even tighter feeling two others nip and peck at his arms in an attempt to yank him free.

"K-Kurrin!" Gin shouted as loud as he could, but his voice was drowned out by all the noise. He waved his tail, smacking away one bird, but it wasn't enough to drive off the others. Gin kept his eyes shut to avoid being pecked in the eyes as a few hits came too close to his face. He tried calling out again, but before his words could form Kurrin's name again, he cried out when one of the pestering Murkrow nicked his arm badly, making a rather deep cut, and ended up causing Gin to loosen his arms. They quickly took advantage and yanked Gin from the branch, cackling wildly as they flew up to great heights. "Kurrin!" Gin screeched while thrashing about in his captor's hold, being brought higher and higher. His mouth turned into an angered frown and he unleashed a massive barrage of seeds, sending them in all directions, managing to hit a few, but it wasn't enough.

"Don't worry, you'll see that old jackass soon enough." The Murkrow holding Gin mocked. Gin kept up his attempts to free himself, but the angle he was being held in made it impossible to hit them.

After his fervent attempt to get free, he was left panting heavily and in pain. The talons were in deep and his arm stung from the night air hitting it as small droplets of blood fell from it. However, his worry was more directed towards Kurrin rather than himself. He looked to see the birds below still crowding at the hole in the ground, some actually managing to push through and disappear underneath. Kurrin needed help, _he_ was suppose to be that help! Tears soon crept up in the corners of his eyes.

This was no time for crying..

"Kurrin.." Gin whispered to himself as he wiped at his eyes to stop his tears. Two other Murkrow noticed this and began laughing, causing the others around to join in their horrible cackling fit. They mocked him and cruelly made threats and comments about what they'd do, what their boss would do, once they pulled the old Pokemon out and it made Gin feel terrible. It made him feel scared and angry. It made him feel weak. He glared at the one on his right who tried to lean in to tease him up close and personal.

"Don't worry though kid, I'm sure he'll make a nice decoration as a.." The bird stopped when noticing the faint, blue glow in Gin's mouth as he panted heavily. With tears in his eyes, he glared at them and lashed out, grabbing hold of the Murkrow and headbutted them hard. He let them drop out of the sky and was then attacked himself by the others. The light grew brighter and hotter as he kicked and swung at the birds around him.

The Murkrow cut and yanked at his tender skin, but Gin didn't care. Tears ran down his face and his breathing was ragged as he fought back, determined to help Kurrin, but his wild flailing stopped, along with the Murkrow's assault, when the sky erupted with a blinding light, cracking loudly as if the ground itself was splitting apart. But the sound was nothing compared to the ear-shattering sound of frightened cries of birds. The ground-rupturing light had struck the swarming flock and shocked a great number of them, paralyzing them instantly as they spiraled down to the ground. Gin then noticed the old Pokemon standing on one of the more higher branches of the withered tree, looking brilliantly white due to his light-colored fur reflecting the moonlight.

"Kurrin!" Gin beamed happily. Kurrin looked to Gin and was surprised to see him so high up. The remaining members of the flock had went after the old Pokemon, but he wasn't bothering with them, keeping his attention to Gin and his captors.

"What are you doing?! I told you to stay put!" Light enveloped his claws and began slashing at the birds that made their way towards him, batting them away as if they were nothing.

"Sorry!" Gin apologized while shouting.

"Enough of this!" The Murkrow snapped his attention from Gin to them. They tightened their hold on Gin, getting him to whine loudly. "Give yourself up, old man, or I'll rip this kid apart!" Kurrin glared at the bird and was soon surrounded by a good amount of the Murkrow that managed to escape his Thunderbolt attack. All around, Gin could make out the orbs of Shadow Balls, readied to hit the Linoone.

"K-Kurrin, don't-"

"Shut your mouth, kid!" The Murkrow threatened, digging their talons deeper, dangerously getting too close to his spine. Kurrin narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. His back and limbs hurt and his head was feeling a bit woozy from all his moving about. The old Pokemon kept still but spoke up loudly.

"Gin," The smaller Pokemon weakly looked into Kurrin's direction, the glow of his special attack once again faint, close to burning out. "You want to show me you can handle yourself, that you don't need me to protect you all the time correct? Then," Gin couldn't make it out, but a smirk formed on his face. "Show me."

In that instance, the Shadow Balls were released, but Kurrin dodged them by leaping up as high as he could, which was still pretty high, then fell down towards the ground. Something inside Gin had rekindled the fire inside his gut. His teacher was right. His special attack grew brighter once again as his eyes flashed with a bluish tint. The Murkrow was about to begin to tear Gin apart, but was met with an attack unlike anything they've seen. The Treecko released a light so powerfully bright, that the entire area was cascaded with a layer of bluish white colored light and burned anything that made contact with it. Gin was let go of immediately when the surrounding birds got blasted and was sent hurling towards the ground.

Kurrin joined Gin in his descent, grabbing hold of him before he fell to the ground below. His arms wrapped around the little Pokemon as they landed gracefully. He didn't mind that his fur was stained with prickles of bright red blood as he held Gin. He looked back up at his teacher, happy to see him and actually surprised the older Pokemon when they made eye contact.

Gin's eyes were a light blue instead of their usual golden hue.

The Linoone was about to open his mouth, but refrained from speaking when he noticed the birds making their way towards them.

"I got this," Gin spoke up and pulled himself away from Kurrin's arms, getting onto his feet. "Go find out where that boss of theirs went to." Kurrin could have sworn Gin smirked at him and stifled a laugh. When did he become so much like _him_ , Kurrin thought to himself, but he supposed it was only natural that he would act like this someday. Gin wasn't as fragile as he liked to believe he was.

"Don't get cocky." Kurrin smiled and darted off, picking up the Honchkrow's scent to track down them while Gin was left with the remaining flock members. Amazingly, he just noticed the usual burning sensation he got whenever he used his special attack wasn't there. It felt...nice, like a small fire was tickling his insides now rather than burning them up. Gin didn't focus on it long, however, as he used his special attack again to fire at the Murkrow before him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five: I Want My Money**

As Gin continued his attack on the remaining Murkrow, he was becoming more and more capable of using his special attack. With each release, it came easier until there were only a few left behind who made the better decision to take off. They flapped their wings as hard and fast as they could, disappearing off the horizon, leaving Gin feeling a little drained. Well, a lot drained actually. The Treecko fell to the ground, feeling he exerted all of his energy. He was about to fall back and simply lie there with the fainted bodies of Murkrow and wait for Kurrin to return, but he stopped when he heard something rustle behind him. He quickly turned his head to spot where the noise had come from, and when he saw nothing, he quickly rose to his feet. Although he was low on energy, he had to hold off until his teacher returned.

Suddenly, a beak appeared out of the bushes not too far off and soon revealed what it was attached to. Gin kept up his guard as Ferrow peered out the bushes, looking around to see their fallen comrades with utter shock. They then noticed Gin there and pulled their head back in, obviously scared. Now, Gin was raised not to attack someone who clearly wasn't up for a fight, so he allowed his guard to fall once again, but walked over cautiously.

"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you." Gin spoke calmly as he stopped a few feet away from where he saw Ferrow poke their head out. Silence followed after, which didn't surprise the Treecko. After all, he'd be scared too if someone took out all of his friends, so he took a seat on the grass, folding his legs up together, a position in which he saw Kurrin take a few times when he was meditating. He sat there and waited for a response, which finally came after what felt like forever.

"J-Just leave me alone!" Ferrow crowed from the safety of the bushes. Gin sighed and kept his position.

"Are you okay?" Gin asked, disregarding what they had said. Out of the small cracks in between the bushes, Ferrow peeked out at him, observing that Gin was pretty drained and probably much less of a threat now, but they weren't going to take that chance. Gin waited for a response again, and when he didn't get one, he proceeded forward. "Are you the one that took my friend? Do you know where she is?" Ferrow cautiously answered.

"No, and I don't know where she is. She ran off and no one could find her." Ferrow half-lied. Gin frowned at the answer he was given and fumbled with his fingers, worry etching into him. Where could she be? If she was hurt, it'd be dangerous for her to be on her own for who knows how long. Gin wasn't sure how large this part of the forest was and was scared it'd take forever to look through each part without getting lost.

"Do you have any idea in which direction she ran in?"

Ferrow's feathers ruffled angrily. Why was this brat asking them as if they cared?!

"I don't know! Just leave me alone!" Ferrow actually rushed out of the bushes, running off to the once safety of the tree. Gin was shocked and quickly got to his feet, running over and stopped Ferrow in their tracks.

Once facing them, he noticed their wing. It was covered with thorns from what he assumed were from the bushes. Ferrow followed Gin's gaze and turned away in an attempt to hide their damaged wing.

"Are you okay?" Gin asked again, much more concerned now. Ferrow took a few steps backwards from Gin.

"I'm fine."

"How did you get all those thorns in your wing..?" Ferrow scoffed at the worried Treecko, mad at their own self due to the stupidity of it. Among all the chaos that took place not too long ago, their comrades were scattered all over the sky, which did allow a cover for them to make their escape. But when trying to fly off, however, one of the other Murkrow had fell back and slammed into them, causing Ferrow to fall hard in a bush teeming with painfully sharp thorns, landing on their side which took most of the damage. After realizing they couldn't fly anymore, thanks to the thorns lodged in their wing, they took to hiding.

"It's none of your business!" Ferrow flapped their good wing in Gin's direction, but it did very little to intimidate the Treecko as they were still smaller than Gin. Gin sighed and accepted that the Murkrow wasn't up for anything. "Sorry.." Ferrow took to the withered tree, trying to climb it but kept failing.

Gin was tempted to offer his assistance, but refrained from doing so as he believed the bird would only lash out more if he did. So, he took to his previous spot, trying not to dwell too much on his growing worry and concern. Ferrow gave up their attempt to climb when they heard something in the distance, coming from the other side of the opening. The two smaller Pokemon turned their attention to where Kurrin emerged from the darkness. Gin rushed over of course, asking questions a mile a minute. Kurrin smiled at his student, but it turned sour when he noticed the Murkrow hiding behind the tree, failing to completely stay hidden.

"What happened? Where's that jerk? Did they know where Sapphire is?" Gin vocally spewed his questions, hoping for some good news. Kurrin took a seat, lying down on the grass. His whole body ached so badly and was internally screaming for his herbal tea, but he kept his calm disposition so not to worry Gin.

"They won't be bothering anyone anytime soon, don't worry. And as for Sapphire, we're going to look for her, they said she was last reported not too far from here." Kurrin answered. His deep blue eyes made contact with the fidgety Murkrow again. "What about that one?" Gin followed where he was looking and responded in a hushed tone.

"They won't hurt anyone either, they're pretty hurt actually, but they won't let me help."

Kurrin kept his eyes locked on them and used his booming, authoritative voice to call over the small bird. They jumped in fear and cursed something under their breath as they slowly hopped over, head kept low. Once they were close enough, the old Linoone looked them over and spotted the thorn-filled wing.

"I'm guessing that hurts pretty bad. I'm sure Aqua can get that patched up once we return." Kurrin got back to his feet, looking a bit wobbly at first, but straightened himself not a second later. He turned to Gin who was close at his side. "Don't worry, we'll find Sapphire." Gin's worry melted away just a tad bit after the reassuring smile on his teacher's face. "So let's go, if she isn't too far from here, then it should be easy enough to find her, especially with a pair of extra eyes." The old Linoone gestured more towards Ferrow, which caught them off guard. Who said they'd help?

"I ain't helping you!"

"Would you rather stay here then with a busted wing?" Kurrin asked deadpanned. Ferrow looked around and scowled angrily. As much as they didn't like or trust the two other Pokemon, they had a busted wing that needed some serious attention. A Center _could_ help, but it would take way too long to get there on foot on their own, not to mention the other threats that lurked outside and their smaller-than-average stature would make them an easy target. So their best chance was with these two, as much as they hated it.

"Fine." Ferrow groaned and followed both Gin and Kurrin out from the opening into the more dense, darker part of the forest once again.

Everything felt extremely painful and now thanks to their broken wing, it was impossible to fly off. The Honchkrow was stuck on foot, which was even worse as their heavyset weight made it difficult to walk for too long without needing a break to catch their breath. Looking back at it, it was foolish of them to obsess over getting revenge on a brat, but who would have thought they'd bring _him_ of all Pokemon. The overweight bird had trudged on the forest floor below, trying to make their way back, their flock was probably worried sick about where their boss was.

Just as they stopped once again to rest, their feathers ruffled in terror at the sound of something coming up from behind. The Honchkrow looked back, seeing nothing thanks to the darkness, but could make out some of their surroundings with the small cracks of light that came in through the tiny openings in the treetops.

"Who's there?!" The Honchkrow boss snapped and turned to where the noise came from, prepared to attack if need be. Nothing came into view however, until a speckle of light reached the sleek, black coat of fur that the bird boss could finally make out. Their unbroken wing engulfed in a dark light, ready to attack, but was caught off guard when something bit into both their ankles, causing them to fall forward, slamming into the ground. They looked around nervously, spotting two other smaller Pokemon who they realized were Poochyena. Suddenly, they realized just who was before them. "Oh! I didn't notice it was you.."

The dark form loomed over the Honchkrow and opened her eyes, revealing how luminescent golden they were, dotted with two blood red irises that locked on the Pokemon beneath her.

"Oh, that's quite alright, it's dark out here after all." The voice from the Pokemon was smooth and hadn't hinted at any aggravation, which was a good thing for the Honchkrow. "But," The boss bird's growing smile disappeared instantly when a sharp clawed foot made contact with their broken wing and pressed down hard on it. The boss bird screamed out, but it was muffled when their face was pushed into the ground as one of the Poochyena bounced onto the back of their head and pushed their face into the ground. "I am here to receive payment for my dear brothers' hard work." The voice became harsh and vicious, speaking to the bird Pokemon in a lowly manner. Claws sunk into the wing as it was pushed into the earth harder, causing the bird to cry muffled shouts into the ground while tears formed in the corners of their eyes. "Are you going to pay or is this going to have to get ugly because I oh so hate having to clean blood out of my coat." The Poochyena on the back of their head moved so the Honchkrow could look up again, panting as hard as ever while their voice was broken and shaky.

"I-I'll definitely pay..I will, I-I swear I will!" The boss bird cried. The bigger Pokemon smiled and barked for the younger brother trio to come to their leader's side.

"That's a good birdie."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six: A Reunion At Last**

 _(Sorry for the really slow and long hiatus, but some personal stuff got in the way, combined with work, and I just really didn't have time or energy to get back to my story. But now, I cleared things up, the only thing is that, instead of every day, I will be uploading a new chapter every other day. Thank you to those who are continuously reading my story and the sweet comments and everything~)_

Tonight was just not Kurrin's night. First, with Sapphire disappearing, then with having to retrieve his anxious student, along with two others from the town. Followed by dealing with a raging swarm of annoying birds, and all to top it off, his back was in pain much greater than ever and walking wasn't helping. Though, he couldn't just leave and head home to lie down, as much as his body begged him internally, he had to find Sapphire and bring her home. Otherwise, he'd have to face the hellish fury of an enraged Marshtomp.

So, as an attempt to ignore the throbbing of his back and the aching in his joints, he turned his attention to the little bird walking a steadying pace at his side. The old Pokemon cleared his throat to gain the bird's attention, but only worked on getting Gin's as his student looked up to him.

"Something wrong, Kurrin?" Gin asked, clearly worried. Kurrin gave him a gentle smile.

"Not at all, Gin. I was just wondering if your little friend was okay." The Murkrow reacted to this rather quickly and took no time in snapping at the old Linoone.

"I ain't that brat's friend!" Ferrow squawked angrily, flapping an non-thorny wing to emphasize their anger at the mere assumption. Gin actually cracked a small smile himself from the display, causing Ferrow to only grow more aggravated.

"My apologies, little one." Kurrin apologized, but didn't seem as sincere as even the older Pokemon had a cracking smile on his face. The smaller-than-average Murkrow sneered and took a few quicker strides ahead to avoid them. Gin's smile slowly faded from his face and spoke up so the bird could hear him, as he felt that walking up to catch up with them would only anger them further.

"Seriously, we didn't mean to upset you." Gin apologized more seriously. Ferrow made no attempt at slowing down or turning their head to show that they heard the apology. But based on how silent the surrounding forest was, the two were sure that the Murkrow heard. And so they did as they responded without looking back.

"Whatever, stop apologizing." Ferrow scoffed. Kurrin followed after Gin, speaking up next.

"I hope you aren't too mad with us."

"I ain't, so can you two shut up and just look for your damn brat so I can go home?!" Kurrin smiled, but it was quickly torn away when he faltered in his step and fell to the ground. A wave of pain crashed through his system, rising from the bottom of his back, up towards his torso and stemmed off into limbs. He felt like he couldn't move and dropped, instantly causing Gin to act, fretting over his teacher. A million questions a minute: 'Are you okay?' 'Where does it hurt?' 'What can I do?' Kurrin was too much in pain to really answer and dug his claws through the dirt slightly in an attempt to keep from verbally displaying how much hurt he was in. Gin frowned and looked to the Murkrow who looked at the two shocked.

"What's with him?!" Ferrow crowed loudly.

"His back..it's messed up and we're too far from home to get any help and you can't fly to get some.." Gin paced around for a second, thinking frantically. Kurrin was out of commission, so this rescue mission was riding on him and him alone. The small Treecko flinched when he noticed Kurrin staring at him, his icy blue eyes locked on Gin. Kurrin parted his lips, revealing lightly blood-stained fangs, proof he was biting back any cries that threatened to escape his throat. He uttered something in a breathless voice, so Gin went closer to try and hear what his teacher was trying to say. "Kurrin? What is it?"

"Y-You..find Sapphire.."

"I can't leave you here alone! You're hurt.." Gin stomped his foot angrily. Why did adults think they were so strong, even for Kurrin, who seemed like a Legend himself, was still vulnerable to being pecked off by some straggling Murkrow while in this condition. Gin ignored what he knew what Kurrin was trying to say and turned quickly onto Ferrow who watched them unsteadily. They seemed stuck on whether to run or stay put. The hard stare of the Treecko caught the bird Pokemon off guard and ruffled their feathers a bit. "You," Gin walked up to the Murkrow, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides as he strode over. "I need you to stay here with my teacher. He cannot move at the moment, but once I find Sapphire, we can transport him back to my home if he still can't move on his own." Gin put a hand up to silence the Murkrow before they could even protest. "Please," Gin sighed in a softer tone. "He can't move and we can't return without Sapphire. I know you don't really like us..but, just this once, can you please help me?" Ferrow looked up to Gin and for some unknown, ungodly reason, they nodded. Slowly. Unsure of why they even cared! Gin nodded his thanks and a small smile grew on his face. He turned and went back to where his teacher was frozen on the ground and carefully placed a hand on one of Kurrin's large claws comfortingly. "I won't be gone long. Don't try and move if you can't. Our friend here is going to keep watch over you." Kurrin stared hard at Gin and, for the longest, was unblinking before he finally gave in and closed his eyes and uttered a quiet okay.

Gin gestured for the small bird to come over and waited for Ferrow to get into a comfy position that was a bit further away from Kurrin, but still close enough to keep a watchful eye out for him. Once Gin was sure Ferrow was there to stay, he took off with blinding speed into the darkness, praying he'd find Sapphire soon.

He had zipped past trees and bushes and large rocks that all seemed like towering blotches of darkened figures as Gin used the small shreds of light to look around. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out for Sapphire. Over and over again before he heard something off in the distance. The sound was so faint and short that he couldn't pick up from which direction it came from, so he called out once again. The Treecko took off like a rocket when he pinpointed where the sound came from once uttered again. His heart raced like crazy, hoping with everything in his soul that the sound led to Sapphire and low and behold, when he reached a darkened section with a single beam of light from above, he spotted a bluish form appearing just beyond the spilled light. His golden eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped when he saw Sapphire standing just before him. She was just as shocked as him and couldn't move an inch, so they both stood there for what felt like an eternity before one finally spoke up.

"G-Gin..?" Sapphire's voice was shaky and soft, a sign she was on the verge of tears. It took him a second to respond, but once he did, he took a cautious step towards her, almost as if he were testing whether or not she'd disappear once he came too close. Once he noticed Sapphire wasn't a figment of his imagination from being in the dark for so long, he raced up to her and pulled the aquatic Pokemon into his arms, hugging her tightly. Her tears ran down her face as she snuggled up to her best friend, relieved to see him. "It is you!"

"I was worried sick! We all were, your mom, me, Kurrin, everyone!" Gin cried, letting his tears run down his face. He didn't really ever want to let her go, but he placed her down so they could see each other better. The two small Pokemon were bathed in the single beam of moonlight coming in through an opening in the treetops and they almost seemed like they were in a romantic tale, where the male and female leads finally reunited and were about to confess their love for one another. But they were kids, it wasn't like Gin felt _that_ way about her. The Treecko blushed and tried to stop his heart from beating so fast. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Can you walk still?"

Sapphire giggled softly.

"Just tired mostly. Those jerks got to me a little, but nothing some bandages and berries won't solve. What about you?" She looked her friend up and down to see he was also slightly banged up. He sheepishly smiled and wrapped his arms around his torso, trying to hide his body away.

"I'm okay, we got stuck dealing with some Murkrow too." Sapphire tilted her head and Gin picked up on why she did instantly. "Oh! Crap! We gotta go! Kurrin is in bad shape and we need to get him back!" Sapphire's eyes widened, and despite her own body feeling like shutting down, she nodded and went with Gin into the darkness once again, heading back.

Along the way, Gin had filled in how him and Kurrin had dealt with the flock and even their boss. Sapphire was shocked to hear about Gin using his special attack with no problems and made a mental note to herself to ask him to show it to her some other time - without her herself being a target, of course. They had ran as fast as they could, but Sapphire was a bit too drained to keep up with Gin's pace, so, while blushing, he offered her a lift and carried his friend on his back.

Once the two returned to where Gin left Kurrin, they surprised Ferrow, causing the bird to screech in a shrill tone before taking shelter behind a tree. Gin placed Sapphire down first and checked her over to be sure she was okay.

"It's okay, it's just us." Gin reassured the Murkrow, allowing them to poke their head out from where they hid. Sapphire looked over to who Gin was talking to and instantly began to glare and rise to her feet. She stormed over, and without warning, had grabbed hold of Ferrow's beak and threw them with the last remnants of her energy. The bird had collided into another tree and fell to the ground with a painful thud and squawk. Gin looked over from his new spot near Kurrin at his friend. "Sapphire, stop!"

"Why is that thing here?!" Sapphire hissed angrily and jumped onto the earth-planted bird, keeping Ferrow pressed into the ground. "They tried to rip my gill off!" Gin then looked to Ferrow, then back to Sapphire, then to Kurrin who tried to say something, but it only came out as a pain-filled groan. Gin left Kurrin's side and grabbed a hold of Sapphire, pulling her off. "W-What are you doing?! Put me down, Gin!"

"No! There is no time for this Sapphire!" Gin kept a tight hold of his friend who began writhing in his grasp, desperately trying to get free. Ferrow took the chance to get to their feet once again and ran off, hiding behind Kurrin this time. "We will deal with this once we're out of here." He spoke again, his tone softer, which in turn, calmed the Mudkip a bit, but he could still sense her hostility. He carefully placed her back down, but kept his hands on her for just in case. "Kurrin is hurt, your mom and grandmother is worried sick, Sapphire, so...let's go home first. Okay?" Sapphire looked to her friend's pleading eyes and sighed.

"You're glad I'm too tired, otherwise I'd-"

"I know." Gin cut her off and released his hold on her. The two smaller Pokemon worked together in order to get Kurrin up and walking, well, more like limping, back home while Ferrow followed from behind, head low, feathers ruffled, and scared as heck.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Back Home Again**

It had been a hectic storm when returning back to Littleroot. Sapphire was instantly pulled from the rescue team into her worrying mother's arms and looked to almost be crushed to death if it she hadn't cried out from the grip. As much as Aqua wanted to celebrate her daughter's safe return, Sapphire told her there was someone else in desperate need of attention.

Everyone's relieved demeanor wiped away when they noticed Kurrin's crumpled up form. Gin had helped fill in that he needed Marine's help, as she was an expert of some sorts when it came to dealing with stuff like this. Aqua had helped take Kurrin off Gin's hands and brought the older Pokemon into her home. Of course, Gin and Sapphire followed closely behind, along with everyone else in Littleroot. All but one.

Ferrow felt really out of sorts and wasn't sure if following the group was a wise idea. Especially once the base settled down and everyone regrouped once more. Would they even be allowed back? Would even stepping a foot back in those woods mean a death sentence for them? Ferrow recalled how their last interaction with their boss would have ended if not for the green brat and the old man stepping in to help. But they couldn't exactly stay here either, with the Mudkip all riled up, there was no way they'd be able to stay here for some time. And flying was out of the question as they looked to there thorn-filled wing. Perhaps, once alone, they could ask that green brat to help. For now, the Murkrow took to the hidden safety of some bushes and nestled their little body inside as they waited.

Meanwhile, inside, the shop was filled with Pokemon all busily whispering and chatting, some, such as Ms. Potter and Willow, spoke with Gin and Sapphire as the two young Pokemon snacked away at some restorative berries Aqua supplied them with.

"We were all so worried, Sapphire, but Kurrin, the darling, had assured us he'd bring you all back." Willow smiled at her gossip buddy. "I'm so relieved you're back home." The old Farfetch'd tapped the leek-like stalk, she used as a walking stick, on the ground happily.

"Well I wasn't too worried, with folk like Kurrin and our little Ginny here, Sapphire was going to be returned in no time soon." Ms. Potter piped up cheerily, getting the Treecko to blush from her compliment. Sapphire rolled her eyes, but giggled herself before giving her friend a little playful nudge.

"Thanks,"

"You don't gotta thank me, it's what friends are for right? You would've done the same for me." Gin tried to act cool, but the look on Sapphire's face was making it difficult to hold his calm disposition. Personally, he was thrilled to have her back here, safe and sound and by his side. "I'm just glad you're here again." The two older female Pokemon had giggled among one another as they watched the two children before them. Sapphire's face deepened in color a bit and hopped off the bench.

"Let's talk in my room, it's a little noisy out here." Sapphire suggested and Gin followed after her, cradling a few berries in his arms. The two headed off into the Mudkip's bedroom. Once inside, Gin had taken a spot on the edge of her bed while Sapphire took to her normal one, slipping under her plush blanket in the process. The Treecko waited for her to get comfy and chomped into a ripe Rawst berry. The bittersweet taste of it made the inside of his mouth tingle delightfully. "I can't believe all this happened because of me." Gin was caught off guard by Sapphire's words and nearly choked when trying to swallow his food. He turned to look at her, seeing her frown.

"Who said this was your fault?"

"If I just-"

"Sapphire, you were kidnapped," Gin interrupted sternly. "There was nothing you could have done to prevent that. It just happened. And besides, no one got killed or anything, so there's no need for you to feel guilty." Sapphire, bundled up in her blanket, scooted close to Gin and rested up against him, driving the Treecko to gush a deep red.

"Kurrin got hurt, Ivan, my mom..you.." He picked up on her tearful tone and put an arm around her in a gesture to comfort his friend. "I can't defend myself, Gin, and after this, I know my mom isn't going to let me go anywhere anytime soon. I want to be strong, like you. I want to be able to go for my dream and actually achieve it."

"And you will." Gin tried to reassure her. She sighed and stayed in her position beside Gin, nestled up in her blanket. "Don't worry, okay? We'll do whatever it takes to become Rescuers, even if it means training til our bodies can't move for days, right?" Sapphire cracked a giggle and looked up to her friend. Usually he was the bummer, she thought to herself and nodded.

"Yeah, we will." Sapphire yawned and rested her head on his lap. "We will." Gin placed the rest of his berries to the other side of his hips and helped tuck Sapphire into bed properly before taking a spot on the floor, resting his back against the bed and shut his eyes. Perhaps some meditation would help calm his nerves.

 _Everything was dark and cold and the Treecko could barely make anything out. Where were they? He tried to recall something, anything, but nothing came to mind. What was this place? It felt as if he was submerged underwater, but no water filled his lungs. So he began to flail, trying to move from his position, but even with all of his strength, he couldn't move. He looked around, only to be welcomed by the chilling darkness that seemed to slowly begin to weigh heavily on his soul. Something wasn't right. Well, beside being in this watery-like expanse of darkness. The Treecko continued to look around still, however, then settled his gaze on something that wasn't there before. A figure, just as dark as the space around them, was floating further in the distance. He tried to speak, but no words escaped his lips, so he waved his arms frantically to try and get their attention._

" _What are_ you _doing here?" The voice was gruff and threatening, catching the Treecko off guard. Again, he tried to speak, but nothing came out. "Your kind is not allowed here." The voice grew louder and more threatening, causing the space around them to become extremely heavy. Invisible waves crashed against the smaller Pokemon, sending him back. "Leave now!" The Treecko so desperately wanted to speak, but as much as it felt as if he were screaming his lungs out, no words escaped him. This, of course, only angered the shadowy figure more, which caused the once darken space to erupt in a blue light from the unidentified being. The smaller Pokemon had to cross his arms over his face in order not to go blind from such radiance, but, while peeking through the spaces between his arms, he caught sight of who was emitting such light. The being's body was covered with fine lines and markings that glowed brilliantly, the same radiant look that he recalled from before. A memory came to mind._

" _W-What are you..?" The Treecko's words finally came out, but in a hushed whisper. Amazingly the being endowed in light had spoke in a calm voice, the space around them calming as well._

" _You are not allowed here. Go back to whence you came." They roared and the water-like space around them felt as if the Treecko would drown in the heaviness they created once again._

" _W-Wait!" The Treecko argued, but his cries were drowned out by the vicious roars. The sound reminded him of waves crashing against the shore when the weather out at sea was bad. A memory had came to mind._

Gin awoke suddenly, sitting up in what was a bed, breathing heavily as if he had been given air once again after being submerged for so long. He looked around frantically and noticed he was not in Sapphire's room anymore. He wasn't in any room he recognized, but he calmed once he noticed the sleeping form beside him. Gin rested against the furry body of Kurrin who was snoring peacefully. Wherever he was, he was safe.

Gin stayed there for a minute or two before finally deciding to creep out of bed and head outside the mysterious room. He peeked out to notice the familiar setting of the berry shop and came to the conclusion that he must have dozed off and was moved into another room. The lobby of the shop was no longer filled with Pokemon, now, it was barren and silent. He wondered if he could peek in on Sapphire, but he guessed she must be asleep still. After all, tonight was really draining. Was it still tonight? He carefully and stealthily left he bedroom he shared with Kurrin and headed to the nearest window and looked out. It was still dark, but far off above the treetops, he could make out the signs of the morning crawling up overhead of them. Gin took a look back at the doors that remained unmoving and headed outside.

The slow-crawling dawn air was crisp and felt really nice. As Bernard would say, it was great weather for some fishing. He had never went fishing himself, but perhaps one day he would take the opportunity to catch something. He smiled recalling tales Bernard spoke of. Tales about Pokemon he met that claimed to catch Pokemon of towering sizes or as ferocious as Sharpedo. Maybe he'd go with Kurrin some day.

Gin was about to head off, but stopped himself when he heard sniffling. The Treecko turned to see no one other than Ferrow, with their head sticking out from the bushes and sneezing.

"Bless you," Gin startled the Murkrow and caused them to jump right back into the bushes. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you!"

"What do you want?" Ferrow crowed as angrily as they could muster. This didn't bother the Treecko however as he went and took a seat in the cool grass where Ferrow was hiding. He crossed his legs and looked up to the sky, having nothing in particular to focus on.

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to leave you out here all night." Gin tried to apologize, but Ferrow wasn't having any of it.

"I don't care."

"How's your wing? Miss Aqua didn't get a chance to look it over last night." This was followed up by a long pause, in which Gin grew worried by it. "Is it painful?"

"Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I need your mothering." Ferrow squawked in his bushy shelter. Gin shrugged his shoulders, a bit relieved that the bird didn't sound like they were in pain. Once the sun was up, he'd be sure to take them to Aqua to get their wing patched up. "Why are you even bothering me? Especially after what I did.." Gin's growing smile instantly dropped when he recalled what the Murkrow was speaking about. Apparently the bird had tried bringing harm upon his friend, ripping her gill off would have been a serious issue. Something unforgivable. But, it hadn't happened, so Gin couldn't completely despise the bird.

"Well, that is messed up, but you chose not to do it."

"I didn't get _to_ do it. I had her, but..she got away." Gin's frown tightened further.

"Why did you want to take her gill?" Ferrow wasn't interested in telling their life story to some brat they didn't care about, but perhaps being away from their flock was beginning to take some affect on them. Their feathers ruffled at the thought. "Well, it's okay if you don't want to tell me. Why don't we talk about something else? Like," Gin fiddled with his fingers, trying to think of some small talk. "Oh, how about we start with names?" The Treecko made a show of clearing his throat. "My name is Gin, what's yours?"


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Family That Hates Together, Stays Together**

Ferrow was of course reluctant to answer the annoying brat, but perhaps they had fell on their head a little too hard while all of that nonsense went down. The Murkrow sighed and made sure to speak lowly so that only Gin could hear them. Annoyed, they introduced their own self as Ferrow and Gin was, in turn, glad to get a proper response from them. Maybe this was their punishment, for all the horrible things they've done to other Pokemon, maybe their deserved to get pestered by this kid and get pummeled into the ground by the other.

"Well Ferrow, I'm glad, in a way, we got to meet." Gin smiled lightly from his comfortable spot near the bushes.

"Glad to meet your friend's attacker? Some pal you are, brat." Ferrow sneered. This caused Gin to deflate a bit, but he came back with a response of his own.

"Well Kurrin, my teacher," Gin clarified for the hidden Murkrow. "He raised me to see that there is no such thing as entirely evil. Sure, there are Pokemon, like you, who have or has tried to do terrible things-"

"Case closed, you're not a good guy if you're stealing or hurting other folk." Ferrow crowed and Gin sighed annoyingly that the bird wasn't listening to him. He tried at it again.

"I'm saying that even though you _tried_ to hurt my friend, that doesn't entirely make you bad." The Murkrow still wasn't understanding this and peeked at Gin through the bushes like the brat was insane. It was dangerous to believe in such a philosophy, Ferrow believed. If someone were to wrong you, then you hate them. You either avoid them or get payback, it was that simple. It was how they were raised. "Sometimes we may do bad things, things against our will, things we did out of spite, or simply because we could, but it doesn't make you entirely bad. After all, if you chose to hurt someone or steal from them, then you could also chose to make a new friend or help someone." Gin smiled at the signs of the peeking sun over the horizon.

Ferrow was puzzled and wanted Gin to delve more into the topic, but the two were interrupted when the sound of the door of the berry shop was heard. The bird Pokemon stilled in the bushes and tried to appear smaller so not to be seen, but the bushes were doing a great job at that already. Gin, on the other hand, looked over to see Marine poke her head out and scan around before settling her warm eyes on him. He smiled back at her and gave her a 'good morning', which she replied with one of her own. The elderly Mudkip waddled over and gave the Treecko a look over.

"Out here enjoying the early morning view?" She asked and he nodded, obliviously not wanting to tell her or Aqua about the Murkrow hidden away. "It's nice isn't it?"

"Are you okay Miss Marine?" Gin asked himself. The older Pokemon kept her little smile on her face and took a seat in the grass beside him.

"Yes, it's just my heart racing a bit still from all the excitement from last night." She petted her chest softly to emphasize her point. Gin frowned slightly and looked away, ashamed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"You have no need to apologize, Gin. Sapphire is back, you're back, and everyone's safe and sound. I couldn't ask for things to end more nicely than this." Marine and Gin sat there, having small talk, which in turn, ended in long, silent pauses. Finally, Gin spoke up again.

"What about Miss Aqua?" He asked softly. Marine turned her head slightly in his direction.

"What about my daughter?"

"I mean, how does she feel about.." Gin tried to finish, but was giving in halfway of whether or not to complete his question. "About Sapphire still going to try out?" Marine looked back to the bluish hues now beginning to blend into the once night sky. She recalled when she was younger, back in the swamps, she'd lose herself in the vast expanse of sky. Maybe she was a flyer in a previous life, who knows. A smile crossed her lips as she kept her brownish eyes to the disappearing stars.

"Aqua is a fickle one, but Sapphire is her daughter, my granddaughter, and she has a spirit that burns even stronger than the two of us combined. I'm sure even if my Aqua denied her, she'd find a way to go anyways, so don't worry about it. I will speak with her still, however." Marine giggled when she heard the Treecko beside her let out a breath he had been holding in apparently.

Soon, the two were joined by Sapphire, then Aqua, and the four of them stayed outside together until the sun was completely up. Kurrin was still resting, sound asleep in bed, which didn't worry Gin too much. He was old and he exerted himself a lot yesterday, so he deserved this long rest. However, what _was_ on his mind was the Pokemon he kept hidden away. Ferrow needed some serious medical attention for their wing, but he was still debating whether or not it was wise to reveal them to the Murkrow-hating, aquatic Pokemon before him. Sapphire seemed to pick up on his worrying and looked to where his eyes would occasionally dart over to.

"Do you want to help it?" Sapphire asked darkly, in a tone low enough for only the two of them to hear while Aqua and Marine went on about what to make for breakfast. Gin jumped from the sudden question and quickly locked eyes with his friend. She, of course, still seemed to hold resentment over it, but Gin trusted that she'd behave if he were to bring them out. Miss Aqua, on the other hand, he wasn't entirely sure about. He knew of her hatred for Ferrow's kind and might turn her nose up at the mere thought of helping a Murkrow.

"Well, yeah," Gin whispered back. "But your mother doesn't seem like she'd be up for it now thinking about it and you _surely_ don't seem up to it." He gave her a sympathetic look, which made the Mudkip roll her eyes. She still couldn't believe he was siding with the enemy, but Gin was her dearest friend, and it was only _one_ flying pest. She tilted her head into her mother's direction, gesturing for Gin to go and speak with her.

With a gulp, he meandered over to the Marshtomp's side and cleared his throat loud enough to pull Aqua from her food-based conversation.

"Something the matter, Gin? Are you feeling unwell?" She asked, her mother mode beginning to come to surface as she scanned the little Treecko for anything wrong. He quickly shook his head, hands waving in a frantic motion.

"N-No, no, I'm fine! It's just..well, I have a, um, I guess.." He looked over to Sapphire, unsure of whether or not to use the word 'friend'. He felt that if he did, that it would be a sign of total and utter betrayal in her eyes, so he refrained from doing so. "Someone who might need your assistance." Aqua raised a what would be considered a brow for her kind as she looked down at Gin, puzzled.

"Was there someone else with you beside Ivan and Kurrin?" She asked. Gin felt as if he was put on trial as the three pairs of brown-amber eyes were locked on him. He felt like he was sweating and his hands tightened into fists at his sides.

"Sort of."

"Well, what is 'sort of'?" She asked, sounding completely not amused by the vague answering.

"I mean, they aren't so bad-" Gin was then cut off when a loud, abrupt sneeze caught all four of the Pokemon's attention. They all looked over to where the sound had came from. Both Marine and Aqua shocked while Gin was drenched in worry. Sapphire only grimaced, but tried her hardest to dial it back. Aqua looked back to Gin, reading his expression.

"Is that your 'someone in need of my assistance'?" She thumbed over at the spot covered in bushes. The Treecko sheepishly nodded, rubbing at his arm nervously.

"Please, they aren't dangerous, they're hurt and they-" Gin tried to speak, but was caught off when Aqua called out to the being in the bushes.

"Hey, you can come out. I don't know what Gin here has told you, but I ain't gonna bite." She giggled warmly and made her way over to the bushes. All the while, Sapphire was looking to Gin, her expression reading: 'I told you this was a bad idea'. Aqua waited just an arm's length away from the bushes and knelt down to try and appear less threatening. "Gin said you're hurt, maybe I can help. I patch up my daughter and the folks around here most of the time, so I know a thing or two."

Ferrow was frozen in fear while in the bushes, unsure of whether or not to take the chance of exposing their own self to the one Pokemon even their boss had feared. Ferrow and their flock had avoided Aqua as much as possible and would only try and raid the fields whenever she was either gone or asleep. Only the most foolish of members would try and take on such a terrifying Pokemon like her. And now they would have to face them if their wing was going to get fixed. The nearest Center was some ways away and they didn't really think they'd be able to fend for their own with a useless wing. The little one had wanted to hurt them; he couldn't imagine what was in store if the Mudkip's mother had come face-to-face with the one who attacked her daughter. They tried not to feel nauseous.

"Hello? Are you there?" Aqua asked, a slight hint of worry in her voice. The voice of a mother. Ferrow flinched from how genuine it sounded and figured if they were going to die, then it'd be best from a demon like her rather than the likes of their own kind. With a final breath, they shuffled out of the bushes and was not shocked to see the sudden friendly drop in the Marshtomp's face. She had grimaced a bit, not so much as her daughter, but still wasn't pleased to see them. They lowered their head, not wanting to see their facial expressions. "What is this, Gin?" She turned on the Treecko, catching him off guard.

"They're harmless, they can't even fly!" Gin tried to protest, but the dark glare from Aqua silenced him. Sapphire, as much as she hated Murkrow, had to intervene as she couldn't just let Gin get treated as such. He didn't know better, he was just too kind.

"Momma, he's telling the truth. They actually helped us bring Kurrin back here. The only reason why they didn't come in was because of us." Sapphire spoke up, getting her mother's attention. "The least we can do is get those thorns out and send them their way."

For a while, Aqua couldn't really think of anything else but sending the bird Pokemon in front of her well across Hoenn, but they were small, they looked defeated, and they seemingly helped her daughter and Gin. Perhaps..she could put her hate to the side and help, just to get those thorns out, then send them away. The Marshtomp sighed heavily and looked to her still shocked mother. Marine kept frantically looking from her daughter to the Murkrow, seemingly for some kind of answer or explanation. She turned away and started making her way to the door of the berry shop.

"Come along then, we still need to get started on breakfast." She ordered.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: New Relationships?**

If Gin had ever had an awkward breakfast, then this was it. He, along with the aquatic family, had encircled the small table now covered with a light assortment of pancakes that Aqua had prepared. The Treecko didn't bother eating much as his appetite was nearly gone due to the heaviness in the atmosphere. He glanced over to Ferrow who was sitting not too far off from him. The bird was the same, but didn't even dare to glance at the pancakes settled in front of them. At least Gin took a few bites out off his. He then cleared his throat to try and break the uncomfortable silence.

"These are really good Miss Aqua." Gin complimented, hoping for dear life the words would soothe the anger he knew was swelling inside the Marshtomp. She sat across from him, a smile then plastered onto her face when turning her attention onto him.

"Thank you, Gin, but your 'friend' seems to think differently." She gestured more towards the Murkrow not too far from her. They flinched when they caught her looking at them and got flustered, ruffling their feathers as a result. Their wing was still filled with thorns due to Ferrow turning down Aqua to remove them before breakfast. It still ached from having them in their wing, but they weren't sure they were comfortable enough yet to be tended to by someone staring at them with such hate. Maybe after breakfast they'd feel fine. Hopefully. "Are the pancakes okay?" She asked, forcing herself to speak in a nice tone towards the bird.

"U-Um, they're good." Ferrow answered quickly and took a small nibble from one of the now syrup-drenched stacks. Their beak got sticky due to making contact from the substance, but it was sweet, so they didn't mind much.

Sapphire, who was close-knit beside Gin, had glared a bit, but eased up when Gin had looked over to her. She was still not up to having such a thing inside her home, especially after what this one tried to do.

"Are you finished? My momma has to pull those thorns out soon." Sapphire spoke up. The Murkrow tried not to send a glare back at her and refrained their self from doing so. Instead, they simply looked over to the Mudkip, then to Aqua. Miss Aqua seemed to be wanting the same thing, of course. Their kind was utterly hated by these folk, which was fine with Ferrow. They didn't like the aquatic Pokemon either.

"Yeah, my appetite is gone anyways." Ferrow crowed, but quickly added when Aqua's glare narrowed further in their direction. "A-As much as I'd like to finish such a delicious meal!"

Aqua had taken the little Murkrow into the lobby where the two sat on a bench while she worked at removing the little thorns trapped in Ferrow's wing. As much as she disliked the smaller Pokemon, she carefully and delicately removed each thorn individually, making sure that the removal of each one didn't cause the bird too much pain. Ferrow wasn't sure what to do or say, so they remained silent, flinching every now and again when she pulled a more thicker or longer one lodged in their wing. It was really weird for the bird Pokemon as they were rarely ever treated this softly. Usually, when badly hurt, they'd hide away to escape the mocking and teasing of their flock members. The thought of their cruel flock did cause them to feel bittersweet in that moment. As mean-spirited as the flock of birds were, they were their family, friends, comrades, _everything_. And now Ferrow wasn't even sure if they'd see them ever again. It was a scary and depressing thought, to be abandoned by the ones they called family. They'd be all on their own.

Without their own self noticing, Ferrow had teared up, causing the Marshtomp to stop in the process.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? I'm moving as carefully as possible." Aqua asked. The Murkrow looked up to her then noticed their tears, and quickly used their good wing to hide their face.

"N-No! I'm fine, you can keep going.." Ferrow tried to reassure her, but the mothering Pokemon wasn't having it. She placed her tweezers down on the bench and moved their wing from their face.

"Stop, obviously there's _something_ wrong." Aqua's hatred for the bird's kind was put on pause (as that was a miracle itself) as she looked down at Ferrow with a soft expression. "If it isn't your wing, then what's wrong?"

"As if you'd care.." Ferrow accidentally let slip out and immediately regretted their choice of words, frantically looking up to Aqua to try and explain away what they had said. She raised a fin to the small bird, silencing them.

"Well, as much as your kind irritates me, I cannot allow a distressed child to stay in such a state." She caught Ferrow off guard with a small smile. Children were her weakness, she guessed, even pest-kind ones like Ferrow. "Now tell me, what's wrong."

Ferrow had never received such treatment before, but it oddly felt nice, odd, foreign...

"I miss my home..I guess." Ferrow admitted in a hushed, sad-filled tone. "But thanks to the green bra-, I mean, the green kid and his old man, I may not be allowed to return. My boss..." They couldn't help but begin to tear up again. Their voice began to crack slightly. "M-My boss would kill me if I came back now.." The pent up, varying emotions the Murkrow had since last night, were finally coming out in full in the form of heavy tears. The Marshtomp watched Ferrow for a moment before cautiously bringing in the small bird in with her fins. She pulled Ferrow close to her side, careful as to not to damage their wing that still needed tending to.

"Well I'm sure Kurrin will help and give you somewhere to stay in the meantime." She smiled softly as she held the child, petting and brushing back the hat-shaped tuft of feathers on their head. Ferrow only cried harder and pressed their face into Aqua's side as they bawled.

Meanwhile, Sapphire and Gin, who had been eavesdropping the entire time, finally left the door leading out to the lobby. Gin was kind of happy to see Ferrow open up a little and would definitely talk to Kurrin about helping the Murkrow out once he awoke from his deep slumber. However, he wasn't sure how Sapphire was feeling. He looked to see her expression and could see the upset nature of her scowling face.

"You okay?" He asked and jumped from suddenly being snapped on.

"No! I'm not." She glared at her friend.

"I know you don't like them.." Gin started carefully.

"After what they tried? You're dang right I don't!" Sapphire practically hissed at him. "That thing is a pest!"

"That 'thing' is a living being, just like you and me, Sapphire. And before you think I'm standing up for them, I do agree that it was terrible for them to try and hurt you."

"Then why?" She asked him bitterly, tearing up herself. Gin was surprised to see her face filled with a pain he'd never seen before. Perhaps it was the pain of her best friend defending their attacker. It made Gin feel like utter garbage. "Why would you help them if you knew..they tried to hurt me..?"

"Because they needed help and didn't have anyone else to turn to.." Gin frowned when she broke into full on crying. She fell back onto her rear, rubbing at her eyes to try and stop her tears. The sight was hurting Gin's heart and he couldn't bare seeing her like this. The Treecko took a seat beside her. The dining area was filled with her soft, barely audible bawling. He then wrapped an arm around his friend and pulled her close to his side. He pulled even harder when she began fighting against him until, after a few weak attempts or so, she gave in, settling beside him.

"It was scary, Gin..."

"I know and I'm sorry." Gin apologized softly, now pulling her into a hug. The two remained there until they were discovered by Aqua and Ferrow and the four all settled on doing some berry picking. Well, mostly just Aqua and Gin really as Ferrow and Sapphire was too upset to really do any work.

"D-Daddy!" The small Poochyena had literally shot into the direction where Ivan was and collided into him so hard that the force knocked him backwards. The laughing papa had went rolling across the ground, daughter in tow, and finally stopped once he was on his back. Her face was wet with fresh tears and her nose was already running as she looked up to her dad. "I-I was worried..!" She whined. Ivan loved his little paw-rincess and gave her a small kiss on the head to calm her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Daddy didn't mean to make you worry so much." Ivan apologized sweetly and had lifted himself off his back and back onto his feet. His daughter had wanted to stay with him at the berry shop last night, but Ivan was in no shape to really tend to his tearful daughter, so Ms. Potter had offered to take her for the night, which did not go as easily as she wished. The little Poochyena had kicked, screamed, and fought with everything in her to be by her daddy's side. Not until after some coaxing of sweet honey milk was the little girl calm enough to be told she could visit tomorrow. Ivan was secretly thankful for the Beautifly. He could barely even speak due to how dizzying his head had become after such a night. Luckily, with Aqua's help and being a naturally fast healer, he had made it through. "How about I treat you to something nice for being such a good girl for Ms. Potter?" His daughter beamed happily and bounced around excitedly. He chuckled then looked to Ms. Potter, who watched them with glee. After all, the sight of a child and parent bonding after time apart was oh so sweet to see in person. "Thank you for watching her, Melody." Ivan bowed his head slightly in her direction. The Beautifly blushed a bit as her wings fluttered even faster, a sign she was flustered.

"Oh, it was a pleasure, Mimi and Vivi love having playmates." She giggled. Her daughters were a handful, but with someone to keep them company and out of her way, then they were free to burn themselves out. "You should bring her over more often."

"Is that an invitation?" He asked, a slight grin to his question, causing her to blush even more.

"I-I mean, it is if you want it to be.." The two were then interrupted by Ivan's daughter who tugged on her papa's longer strands of fur.

"Daddy, I'm hungry, can we get my treat now?" She asked, her red irises looking to him pleadingly. Ivan could have sworn his daughter's eyes were made from actual rubies the way they shone. It left him in somewhat of a trance.

"Sure, sweetie." He turned back to Ms. Potter. "We'll catch up later, huh?" The Beautifly nodded and waved her goodbyes to both Ivan and his pampered daughter before the daughter and daddy combo left to get something sweet.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty: Hanging Out**

The morning breeze was oh so pleasant and felt too good to be sitting in bed all day. Kurrin was still in bed, looking out the window to where the soft curtains billowed gently from the light breeze coming in. The Linoone had awoken to the lingering smell of what he recalled were pancakes and his stomach growled furiously to the heavenly scent. It made his very _soul_ ravenous. The old Pokemon had noticed earlier upon waking up that Gin was no longer at his side. Gin had been brought to his bed (technically Aqua's as she was allowing him to use it for the night) as he had fallen asleep in Sapphire's bedroom.

He knew that Gin was most likely up and about somewhere nearby, whether it be at breakfast or perhaps somewhere running around with Sapphire. For now, all he could think about was filling his stomach with something. Hopefully pancakes. Kurrin slowly left the bed, then room, leaving the bed made up properly for Aqua. He left and followed his nose, heading into another room which led into a smallish room with a kitchen and table. He furrowed his brow seeing that the table was cleared and made his way over to the fridge. Hopefully Aqua wouldn't be upset if he poked around for something to eat. Kurrin poked his head inside the way smaller fridge, unaware of the smaller, elderly Pokemon waddling into the kitchen. Marine froze in place when she saw Kurrin's body sticking inside the fridge, but relaxed after a second of noticing who it was, and giggled. This startled Kurrin and caused him to bump his head inside the roof of fridge. He quickly pulled his head out and looked over to see Marine giggling at him.

"Hungry, I assume?" Marine asked in a somewhat teasing tone. Kurrin couldn't help but blush slightly from the surprise and shut the door when she slowly made her way over.

"Yeah, I guess I missed breakfast." Kurrin sighed. Marine made it over to the kitchen counter and asked for a stool nearby Kurrin. He gladly fetched her stool for her and placed it so she could reach the counter top. The Mudkip had asked for a few things from various cupboards and the fridge, which Kurrin dutifully brought her.

"How's your back doing?" Marine asked in between her soft humming as she began mixing something inside a bowl. Kurrin simply sat at her side, watching her.

"It's great thanks to that brew of yours." Kurrin gave her a smile. "Those herbs are a real miracle."

"I'm glad they could be of help. Aqua was fretting over whether or not you'd be okay. It took nearly forever to get her to leave your side." Marine's smile only grew slightly bigger when she noticed Kurrin's face tinge a shade of rosy pink. She then prepared the archaic stove and a pan after her mixing. Kurrin then took a seat at the little table, looking a bit silly as his large form comically out-sized it.

"I have to thank her properly when I see her." Marine nodded and proceeded to begin cooking, pouring the pancake batter onto the pan once it was heated up fully. The two prattled on with small talk and occasionally filling each other in on last night's events. From how Ivan was doing to the Murkrow child Gin had brought in. This bit of information shocked Kurrin a bit as he knew of the family's distaste for the feathery kind. "How was she?" Kurrin asked in a worried tone, but his worry was melting away instantly when he noticed the old Mudkip still smiling.

"She talked a bit with them, but things are still a bit..odd I suppose. We were actually hoping you'd take them for a bit, just until we figure some things out for the poor thing." Kurrin's ears flattened a bit but agreed to helping out anyways. It's not like he could have the kid sleeping out in the cold, alone. His mind then went to Gin.

"How's Gin?"

"He went out with Sapphy after finishing up in the fields."

Gin had a hard time speaking with Sapphire for the rest of the morning. Even after working with Aqua out in the berry fields, he couldn't get Sapphire to even smile in his direction, which of course made him feel the lowest of lows. He hated being disliked by his best friend, so he'd find a way to cheer her up, so he took her out to their favorite spot.

The small pond was occupied by little Mimi and Vivi, who were playing a game of tag around it, not even paying Gin or Sapphire any attention. He took Sapphire to a more secluded spot near the body of water, an area not too far off where some new wildflowers were blooming. He patted himself on the back when he saw a small smile form on her lips when she looked down at a pretty golden wildflower.

"I'm really sorry Sapphire," Gin apologized, looking down. "I shouldn't have brought Ferrow here."

"It's okay," Sapphire answered rather quickly. "You felt it was the right thing to do and it's good to help others out. Like momma said, they didn't have much of an option other than to listen to their boss." Sapphire had recalled the conversation that went down after midway of their berry picking. Ferrow had actually spoke up and came clean about their horrible attempt at hurting Sapphire, which in turn, angered Aqua fiercely. It took a lot for the older Marshtomp to calm herself and keep from verbally lashing out at the Murkrow. Gin was glad she did. Ferrow talked about how if they didn't, they'd be kicked out of their flock and forced to live on their own. This, had softened Sapphire just a small bit, but she still had a sour expression on her face when she looked into the Murkrow's direction. Aqua had tried to help Ferrow out by ensuring her daughter that they had no choice in the matter. That, if put in their perspective, they would have done the same if it meant staying with your family. Sapphire didn't completely agree with that, but she guessed she could understand it. "It's good you want to help others, Gin, it's what I like most about you." Gin blushed furiously, then followed by Sapphire as she then noticed what she had said and looked into his direction, clearly flustered. "I-I mean, you know what I meant!" Gin chuckled.

"Yeah, I do. Are you still mad at me?" He asked her softly. She kept her soft brown eyes locked on his and could no longer suppress her smile when looking at him.

"Yeah, I am." She laughed when Gin frowned intensely, rolling over onto her side.

"I'm being serious, Sapphire!" Gin pouted and folded his arms.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Her howling laughter lowered into little giggles, then nuzzled up next to him. "I'm sorry, I'm not mad at you. I mean, I'm not thrilled or anything and all of this..has my feelings kinda jumbled, you know?" Gin loosened up then and rested in a more relaxed position, leaning back with his palms keeping himself up.

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Gin looked down at Sapphire, her head practically laying on his lap and gave way for him to spot the little marks left behind from her encounters from the Murkrow flock. He should have been there for her, he thought mentally as a tinge of hurt wormed its way in his heart. "With everything that happened, I guess you have every right to feel that way."

"You think we'll encounter stuff like that when we're Rescuers?" Gin flinched from the question, which Sapphire picked up on and caused her to look up at him. He tried his best to act cool.

"Well, maybe, Rescuers deal with all kinds of stuff." She nodded softly and looked away again, getting back into her comfortable position. "Are you...getting cold feet about it?" He asked her, watching Sapphire closely to see how she was feeling. Sapphire then got to her feet, her head held as high as she could.

"Of course not! I might not have been able to do much then..but I don't plan on being some defenseless damsel for the rest of my life." Gin looked to Sapphire as if she was a glimmering beam of light in his dim, dark world. Well, she was _always_ his light when it came to him. "I plan on getting stronger and becoming a Rescuer, to be an inspiration to others who can look to me and feel that they can also achieve what I have." She then turned to Gin, tail fin wagging. "I don't plan on giving that up even if I have to face a thousand Murkrow!"

"That's my Sapphire." Gin blushed a bit, happy to see her spunky spirit coming back. Why did it feel like forever since he's seen her like this? Gin then got to his feet. "Feeling pumped up? The tryouts are in a few more days." Sapphire nodded excitedly.

"I may need to still speak with my momma, though, about going still." Sapphire faltered a bit. "But..I don't plan on not attending, even if she doesn't let me." Gin nodded.

"I'm with you a hundred percent." Sapphire couldn't help but blush a bit and quickly shook away the heat rushing to her cheeks and face.

"Then we better get some training done."

"Wait, what?" Gin questioned as Sapphire got into a battle ready stance. Not too far off, the twin Wurmple had noticed them and quickly crawled over to see what was going on.

"You're gonna fight?!" Mimi squeaked.

"I wanna see!" Vivi added. Sapphire giggled at the two larva Pokemon and looked backed to Gin.

"Ready for round 2, Gin?" Gin smirked.

"You know I am."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Stone Creator**

 _It was dark, as it always had been, no surprise there. The entrance to the deep cavern held an eerie presence about it, but this did not deter the dark Pokemon that stood before it. They were told to come to such a place and they dutifully did, despite the long, dangerous track it held. But finally they had managed to arrive and the cavern entrance was before them. The giant hole loomed over them and it released what they could sense as a soft warmness. The voice said they would have what they needed here, but retrieving it would not be so easy. Luckily easy wasn't something the dark Pokemon enjoyed and took their beginning steps inside._

 _The further they walked, the greater the eeriness and warmth grew, slowly turning into a scorching heat wave that threatened to keep those who entered from continuing. However, they were not easy to keep away. Nothing would keep them from gaining that power. The tall Pokemon had kept with their steady pace, despite the intense heat now filling the cavern and began making out a faint, orange light coming from not too far off. They moved a bit faster when spotting it and soon came to another smaller opening in the cavern that led to an enormous pit of hissing, bubbling magma. Narrow paths had circled around the edges of the pool, with various other holes leading into who knows where. Well, now or never._

 _They began their search, walking in and out of smaller caves, peering in just enough to see if there was anything of interest inside. Not until a few look ins later did they come across someone faintly humming. It echoed in one of the further smaller cave openings._

 _The voice then went from humming a melody to actually singing. Their voice seemingly making the magma below react by bubbling furiously. They inched closer to the entrance, minding the growing heat of the magma, crawling closer to the source of singing. Inside, they caught glimpses of moving shadows until a mythical Pokemon came into view. The dark Pokemon had heard of such a being, Heatran, was their dark Pokemon narrowed their eyes and began slipping inside, staying undetected._

 _Heatran continued their carefree singing, moving about in the small room, going from miniature magma pool to the next. Long chains, that clung from the ceiling of the cave and dipped into the magma, were pulled on to reveal brilliantly shining objects cluttered together in the bowls that were held by the chains. The dark Pokemon had identified these as Stones, mystical items that brought forth great, unknown power to the being that uses them. The power was so great, that its user would even change physical form in the process. This was the legendary stone creator, Heatran. The large Pokemon went onto moving about the pools, checking on the glistening stones that formed, whistling and singing delightfully when seeing how perfect they came out._

" _This Legend will have what you need." The words echoed in the dark Pokemon's head as they came out of their hiding spot to face the Legend. Once Heatran was finished checking on a set of stones, they turned and was shocked to see them standing there, only then to become very defensive._

" _What are_ you _doing here? This place is not for mere mortals." Heatran hissed, causing the pools around them to bubble angrily. However, this did not intimidate the other Pokemon at all. Legends were always ones to try and intimidate with flashiness like this. The dark Pokemon took a step forward only to be threatened when Heatran opened their mouth, disorienting the air with how intensely hot their breath was. They were sure the Legend would try and attack._

" _I know you have a shard of the Mythic Stone." The dark Pokemon spoke up, causing Heatran to stifle their heat for a brief moment before it returned in full. It was becoming so hot that the room itself felt as if it were on fire. "I need it."_

" _And why would I hand over something like that to some lanky little mortal?" Heatran asked darkly, every word laced with the threat of wiping the Pokemon before them out of existence. The voice had told them the creator of stones would most likely behave like this and would not give up the stone shard easily. But again, easy was not for them anyways._

" _Because it'd be a shame if I were to destroy the creator of such fine crafts." The dark Pokemon gestured to all around them, the hanging stones whose light was snuffed out from the magma's orange tint. Heatran did not look please by the compliment and stomped a massive foot on the ground, making everything around them quake viciously. The dark Pokemon had dropped onto one knee from the intense earthquake._

" _Leave this place now, mortal." Heatran ordered._

" _Not until I have that shard." Without even a second to waste, the dark Pokemon shifted forms, turning into something else, something that caught Heatran off guard, a Legend. The dark Pokemon had turned into one of the trusty Swords of Justice, Keldeo. Heatran was thrown off of how a mere mortal could take on the form of a Legend, which allowed the Keldeo look alike to attack. They fired a strong jet of water at Heatran, earning a loud, ground-shaking wail of pain. Heatran quickly countered, shooting their own jet of fire in the mortal's direction, however, their now smaller appearance made it easier to dodge the jets of flame. They danced around the small room, evading Heatran's flames expertly until they came in close enough quarters to strike Heatran with two, back-to-back kicks under the larger Legend's chin, shutting their mouth in the process. Heatran tried to stomp on the smaller Pokemon underneath them, but, again, they were much more swifter. They attacked again, shooting pressurized water at Heatran from all angles, threatening to cool their magma-hot body. Although Heatran's body was protected by scorching, steely armor, the attacks still hurt, especially after having their armor cooled down even slightly._

" _Enough!" Heatran roared, causing the magma from their pools to jump into the air, being willed to form a dome around the two Pokemon. The mortal Pokemon looked around, a bit surprised to see that not even a inch of the rocky walls of the cave could be seen anymore. Well, Heatran was the Lava Dome Legend after all. "You come into_ my _domain," Heatran, now fueled by the magma around them, charged at a shocking speed, threatening to push the other into the wall of magma behind them. "Threaten me for something that does not belong to you?! You mortals.." The mortal Pokemon continued to wheel and race out of the way of Heatran's intense charges, which was becoming more and more difficult to do as the close quarters of the lava dome was limiting their movements. However, Heatran managed to get a hold of the quickly evading fake-Keldeo and swung them around insanely before slamming them into the hard, stone-like earth underneath. This caused the dark Pokemon to lose form and change back to normal as they were then kept to the hot ground by a massive foot. They struggled as Heatran glared down at them. "Are just unnecessary burdens to this world. You think you can go against a Legend?" They growled, magma forming bitterly in their mouth, which leaked out from the corners of Heatran's mouth onto the ground, threateningly close to the mortal's head. "Arceus was a fool to create such useless things like you." Heatran added more weight to the smaller mortal under their foot, causing them to wince from the pain. "But allow me to put you out of your misery of an existence." Heatran then opened their mouth threateningly to release the scorching substance inside._

 _The dark Pokemon then transformed again, turning onto the Legend on top of them with a wave of cooling aqua. The stone creator bellowed in pain when the water had got into their mouth, inside their magma-filled body, most likely cooling the substance inside slightly. Now, before Heatran, stood another Legend, one they were not too aware of, but had seen once before. A Suicune clone stood before them, giving off wave after wave of a cooling presence._

" _You speak so ill of mortals, but you Legends are no better." The dark Pokemon growled and fired a beam of ice at Heatran, freezing most of their body in place so they could not move. "You use a power you were simply bestowed with to rule over us. But we mortals.." The Suicune look alike came closer to the struggling Heatran trapped in sturdy ice. The long, white strands that billowed from their body curled around the stone creator's face, forcing them to look at them. "Can be just as powerful as you and I will make sure that your kinds' rein over us will be no more." With that said, they finished the Lava Dome Legend off with a fierce blast of ice, encasing them completely. Frozen with a look of disgust and fury, Heatran, the legendary stone creator, was defeated. At least for now, the dark Pokemon thought solemnly before changing back into their original form. They didn't plan on doing something like this, but the hardheaded Legend was too hardheaded. They looked around the room that now was free from lava as Heatran could no longer keep it up. The shard to the Mythic Stone. It had to be around here somewhere._

It was a pleasant morning, cool and crisp, with leaves billowing gently from the tall trees where they fell from. It was the perfect morning to set off and Gin was ever so excited since they were going alone. Even though the herbs that Marine had supplied helped, Kurrin's body had flared up again and left him immobilized. He wasn't going to be able to follow them out of Littleroot, but he decided to trust Gin and his ability to get them there safely. It was only a few days and Rustboro was pretty close in comparison to some other places. And as much as Aqua had fought against the idea of Sapphire and Gin heading to Rustboro without a guardian, Kurrin had assured her that they'd make contact with Bernard and send an urgent letter back home to tell them they made it there. By memory, Kurrin didn't think that traveling from Littleroot to Rustboro would be too dangerous. Well, besides gangs of Murkrow and other nefarious Pokemon, which darkened the older Pokemon's thoughts, but the look on Gin's face when he revealed they would be on their own was too great to cancel the trip.

Everyone had gathered at the berry shop for a good luck breakfast get together. Gin and Sapphire had scarfed down their food rather quickly, ready to head out. Kurrin had taken the time beforehand to talk with them about their trip. How they'd make two stops at both Odale and Petalburg before coming across Petalburg Woods, then onto Rustboro. How it should take them in total of three days to reach the place and that they'd need to send an urgent letter once there. Aqua and Marine had gone out of their way to prepare everything and more of what they'd possibly need, but Sapphire was adamant about taking her already pre-made bag, which was way smaller than what the two older Pokemon wanted her to take. Of course Aqua was in tears, but Marine calmed her the best she could. Ms. Potter and Willow had made a small batch of cookies for the two to take on their trip. Ivan had given Gin some praise and told him that he wish he could go and see him partake in the tryouts. The two small Pokemon would be dearly missed.

Once breakfast was done, everyone came out to see the two off, even including a stubborn little bird Pokemon. Gin had smiled at Ferrow, who was trying their hardest not to show the displeasure on their face.

"Came to see us off?" Sapphire asked, her tone a little more friendlier than before, but not the best. Ferrow looked in her direction and scoffed.

"Like I care if you two leave."

"Aw, we'll try and visit sometimes!" Gin chuckled seeing Ferrow blush slightly, their feathers ruffling up angrily.

"I don't care!" Ferrow squawked. In the end, Aqua and Kurrin agreed that Ferrow would stay in Littleroot until they feel they could take care of their own self, which the smaller Murkrow was nowhere near close to doing. After having their wing treated, they didn't fly as much and usually walked everywhere. They would walk over to Aqua's in the morning sometimes to enjoy a hot breakfast, then headed out into the woods on their own for some time before returning to Kurrin's. There, they'd sleep in the little shelter Kurrin had made in the nestle of branches above his home as they felt uncomfortable sleeping in the same place with him and Gin. Gin supposed Littleroot had gotten another resident. "Just go already!"

"Try and stay out of trouble okay, because once I come back, I'm gonna be a full fledged Rescuer." Sapphire's smile curled into a cocky grin and made Ferrow blush even harder. They turned their head, not amused.

"Whatever."

"And watch over my momma and grandma?" Sapphire asked softly, surprising the Murkrow. They looked back at Sapphire, her dark brown eyes held some warmth in them when looking in their direction. Odd.. "I know..she'll get lonesome and stuff, so-"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ferrow brushed her off, but the small aquatic Pokemon smiled at them, the look of her now glistening eyes threatened she was on the verge of tears. She was going to miss her family just as much as they were going to miss her. Ferrow softened up a bit from such a look. "I'll _try_ and see what I can do to help out." Sapphire nodded and readjusted the bag strapped to her back.

"Gin," Kurrin spoke up, his form stiff from the previous aching before he had his tea, and smiled down at the Treecko. "I know you can do this, you and Sapphire are strong Pokemon and I know you'll make us all proud." Gin looked from his teacher to the others gathered around, all smiling their encouragement, some saddened, some happy, but they were all encouraging nonetheless. It sent a warm, fuzzy feeling in Gin's chest. These were his friends and family, Pokemon he grew up with and got to know along the way. And, perhaps, wouldn't see again for a while once he and Sapphire became Rescuers. The thought worried him a bit, and threatened to darken his tender feelings at the moment, but it was squashed away when he felt a nudge at his side. He looked to see Sapphire practically beaming at him.

"Ready to go?" Sapphire asked. She was done with her goodbyes as Aqua was crying once again. He looked around to everyone before stopping on Kurrin. The Linoone smiled down at him softly, a tear in the corner of his steely, blue eyes. He rarely ever saw Kurrin cry. The small Treecko then wrapped his arms around the older Pokemon, circling his arms around him as much as he could manage. Kurrin instantly returned the hug, nuzzling Gin as he buried his face in his fur. It was soft as expected and smelled nice.

"I'm so proud of you, Gin, and I love you." Kurrin tried not to sound as sobby as Aqua, but Gin could hear his voice cracking slightly.

"I love you too." Gin's hold on the older Pokemon tightened for a moment before finally letting go. The two gave their friends and family one final goodbye before finally heading off, leaving Littleroot behind in their wake.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two: The Odale Center**

"So what are your thoughts on it? Like, about how it'll be." Sapphire asked as they strolled along their path. The two small Pokemon had been on the road for quite some time and most of their conversation had been, so far, of small talk really. Gin wasn't thinking too much, trying to keep his mind clear just in case. As marked on the small map Kurrin had went out of his way to doodle up, the place they were in was titled Route 101. It was rather calm and pleasant, but held much taller grass than in Littleroot, which provided other Pokemon to hide within.

"Well mostly intimidating, I guess." Gin answered. "I mean, Silver and Aliciana are gonna be there. _The_ Silver and Aliciana! There to judge us, of course it's really nerve-wracking." Gin emphasized his point with a grand gesture that made Sapphire giggle. Perhaps she didn't feel as nervous as he did, he guessed. Better one of them than both. "What about you?"

"I can't deny that I'm a little nervous myself about it," The Mudkip's bright smile faltered just slightly. "But, at the same time, I'm super excited about this! For the longest, most of our lives, we've only known mostly Littleroot. But now," She looked ahead, her smile growing ever so big, along with her brownish eyes. "We get to see so much! Experience so much more and it's amazing."

Gin nodded in agreement, for, as scary as it was to leave behind all they knew, it was still pretty exciting. His mind then wandered to Rustboro, the probably thousands of Pokemon that swarmed there, all thrilled to take part in such an event. However, this darkened quickly as he thought about both him and Sapphire and how'd they do. Sure, he was training with Kurrin, but there was no way he was strong enough to really defeat anyone. For goodness sake, he struggled sparring with Sapphire! But, at the same time, he did have a new, powerful attack in his possession. Perhaps a move like this would help him place alongside his best friend in the tryouts. He also wondered about meeting Silver, the Leader of Petalburg. He was a massive Pokemon, he's heard, and has the power to back up his size. No wonder he had became a Leader. Sapphire picked up on his darkening thoughts and snapped him away from them with a squirt of water.

"Hey, no bad thoughts, got it?"

Gin chuckled and wiped his face, flicking away a few drops.

"Yeah okay."

"So I know ahead of this route is Odale, but what's the rest of the map look like?" Gin then went to his hand drawn map and allowed the shorter Mudkip to look at it.

"Route 101 leads into Odale, yeah, then leaves us access to Route 103 and 102. Map says to take Route 102, though."

"What's in Route 103?" Sapphire asked, a little curious. Gin matched her own curiousness, but they could not afford to sidetrack and end up missing out on the tryouts. He then folded the map back up and placed it in a side pouch of Sapphire's bag for safekeeping.

"Don't know, but we can't sidetrack, Sapphire." Gin answered as much like Kurrin as he could. The Mudkip nodded, but frowned at the idea of skipping over any corner of Hoenn. " _But_ we could drop by it after the event." Gin smiled when Sapphire's frown disappeared.

"Sounds like a plan."

The two continued on through Route 101 without any problems before coming across the sightings of a towering, wooden pole that wielded a sign that read: "Welcome to Odale Town". Gin and Sapphire decided to head straight to the Center there.

There, they were delighted to be greeted by a familiar face. Ms. Potter, now wearing a small medical cap with the Center's cross on it with a matching apron tied around her body, smiled at the two as they raced to the counter. She had worked as a nurse in this Center, but Gin didn't recall seeing her fly by them on their trip here.

"Hey, Ms. Potter!" Sapphire got onto her hind legs so she could look over the counter. The Beautifly giggled and fluttered her beautiful wings happily.

"How are you two doing so far? Need any medical help?" She asked sweetly. The two cooed softly from the pleasant, flower-like scent that emanated from the nurse.

"No, we're okay, Route 101 was a breeze." Gin beamed. The Beautifly then turned her attention away from the two for a brief moment as a rather large, bulbous-looking Pokemon came into view on their right from a room. She had a firm frown on her face as she made her way over to the three, causing Ms. Potter to flinch and flutter her wings faster.

"Melody!" The giant, pink Pokemon practically roared at her. "What are you doing? You're not here to make chitchat with.." The pink Pokemon looked from the flustered, nervous nurse to Gin and Sapphire who shrunk under her glare. "Children."

"S-Sorry Miss Benedict, but there are no patients to tend to at the moment, so I didn't think you'd mind me speaking to my little friends here." Ms. Potter gestured kindly towards the two smaller Pokemon who still felt fretful under the larger Pokemon's glaring. As being a small town and rarely occupied by many Pokemon, their Center was often very less busy than others, which the larger Pokemon disliked very much. The Pokemon, known as Miss Benedict, rested her hands on her what would be hips, eyeing the two smaller Pokemon.

"This is a Center, children, no place for lollygagging around."

"Sorry." Both Gin and Sapphire apologized weakly. The pink Pokemon huffed her annoyance then disappeared back into the room she came from. Once she was long gone, Ms. Potter relaxed finally and returned her attention to the two before her.

"Sorry about her," She whispered. "She is always on edge due to things being so slow here most the time."

"Who is she?" Gin felt as if he needed to whisper back.

"That's Miss Benedict, head nurse and doctor here in Odale. As you can see, she has a bit of a..force in the way she speaks and acts, even though she's a Chansey." The Beautifly giggled a bit at her own comment. Despite the head nurse/doctor being a Chansey, a species known of their kindness and tenderness, she herself was a bit lacking in those traits. Both Sapphire and Gin had never seen one before, so they were lost on why the Beautifly found her own comment funny. "But her heart's in the right place though. I guess she just doesn't know what to do with all that energy of hers."

"It's okay," Sapphire brushed off the harshness of the Chansey.

"Anyways, what are you two planning to do in Odale?"

"Well we were just going to rest for a bit then head out onto Route 102." Gin answered while Sapphire took to one of the cushiony, soft sofas used for awaiting patients or visitors. They managed to keep their plush form from all the years they've been here due to not many folk needing to sit on them. Occasionally, Ms. Potter used one for a nap every now and again when Miss Benedict wasn't around. Gin went and followed her, sinking into the comfortableness of the sofa. Ms. Potter smiled at the two and proceeded to go back to what she was doing prior of their entering.

It wasn't long before the two little Pokemon had fallen asleep. Their walk apparently had drained them just enough to require a small nap, which was crudely interrupted when the sound of Miss Benedict shouting jolted them awake. Gin was first up off the sofa, getting into a defensive stance, sleep still clearly in his features while Sapphire took her time to get up. They both looked to see Miss Benedict standing before them, in her non-pleased stance, hands on her non-existent hips.

"What are you two doing here still? If you are not in any need of medical assistance, then you need to leave!" Gin rubbed at his eyes as Sapphire yawned, both not phased as much from the Chansey's hollering as before. Poor Ms. Potter, having to deal with _this_ all day long. Speaking of the Beautifly, Sapphire didn't see her behind the front desk anymore.

"Where's Ms. Potter?" Sapphire asked. The Chansey looked over to the empty desk, then back towards the smaller Pokemon.

"She went to fetch something for the two of you. She should be back in a bit, but that does not mean you two can laze about here."

"Sorry," Gin apologized, finally awake enough to grasp what they were doing and where he was. "We didn't mean to fall asleep, we've been walking for a while and ended up falling asleep when we sat down." Miss Benedict scoffed and turned away briskly, heading to that room she seemed to keep appearing from. Gin and Sapphire were confused for a moment before she shortly returned, something in her stubby hands. She then offered the plate to the two small Pokemon who beamed at the sight of the delicious baked goods presented there. They both swiped at the treats, which oddly filled them with tons of energy.

"What are these?!" Sapphire asked excitedly, her cheeks puffed out from stuffing as much as the delicious treat into her mouth. Miss Benedict smiled a bit at the sight.

"These are my famous Chan-chans, a treat so delicious and packed with so many nutrients, that it leaves its consumer with tons of energy to last for days!" Miss Benedict boasted. "They're a family recipe and even has a secret ingredient." She winked at the two. Gin and Sapphire stuffed their faces full of the sweet treats until the plate was completely bare.

"Thank you, Miss Benedict." The little ones smiled up at the large Chansey, making her cheeks flush a deeper pink, despite the usual frown on her face.

"Well now there's no excuse for you two to be loitering in here now."

"We didn't really plan on staying long anyways." Sapphire spoke up. "We just stopped by to say hi to Ms. Potter. She lives in our town and is really nice to us."

"Oh, you two are from Littleroot?" Gin nodded in confirmation.

"You walked? From Littleroot to here? By yourselves?" Miss Benedict looked around frantically, just now noticing there was no adult with the two when they came in. Gin looked puzzled by her sudden worry, Sapphire matching his expression as well. "Young children like you shouldn't be out on your own like that! It's dangerous!"

"We're more than capable to-" Gin and Sapphire was then scooped up into the large, pink Pokemon's little arms, being squeezed tightly. The Chansey kept a tight hold on the two, going on and on about how children were not capable of taking care of themselves before finally being interrupted by Ms. Potter, who fluttered frantically back into the Center. She was quickly discovered to be followed by three other Pokemon who did not at all seem friendly.


End file.
